BOGO Baby
by myboygeorge
Summary: It's baby time again for Meredeth and Esposito but when is a Crumbsian baby story ever that straight-forward?  Rated M, natch, picks up about 2 months after the end of 'Surrounded by Hatchlings'
1. New Life: 0 Weeks

'Castle, it's Javi.'

'I know, we have this new fangled thing called 'Caller ID. Where are you, anyways, I thought you were going to be over for poker tonight?'

'Yeah, slight change of plans. Lili went into labour this afternoon.' Esposito glanced over to where Meredeth, Tessi and Rosie were lounging together on the couch of the hospital's waiting room sofa watching cartoons while his father read a chapter out of a Ken Follet novel. 'We're here waiting to get the word from the doctor if it's going to be another C-section like Rosie or if she'll push.'

'Oh, hey that's fantastic. Keep us updated, okay?'

'For sure.'

Esposito ended the call, slumped into the chair beside his wife. She glanced over at him with a sympathetic smile. 'You know as well as anyone, babe, the babies come when they decide.'

'I know, I'm just hoping that when our next one arrives it does so in a punctual way.'

'I late baby,' Tessi said with a nod.

'Yes you were, princess.' Esposito scooped Tessi up into his lap, cuddled her close. She was already getting so big; she'd be two on her next birthday. 'And you were a kicker, you loved to squirm around in Mami's belly.'

'Derm-y fishy?'

'Very squirmy like a fishy.' He kissed the top of her head, saw her yawn widely. 'It's late, Tessi-boo, why don't you and Crush try to sleep.'

'Tia Merry, where is Daddy?' Rosie asked. 'Where is baby?'

'Daddy's in with your mommy, and the baby is on its way.'

'Too slow,' the soon-to-be big sister pouted. 'He is too slow.'

The little family waited and waited as ten minutes turned into twenty, then forty, then sixty. The little Esposito cousins finally nodded off, Rosie in her aunt's lap and Tessi in her daddy's arms while Alejandro simply leaned his backward against the wall and folded his dinner-plate sized hands across his chest.

It was how Rosalita found them around eleven pm when she'd made it there from her daughter's birthing room. She sighed contentedly, if tiredly at all of them: her boy, her firstborn with his little girl in his arms while his beautiful wife cuddled the oldest grandchild, and of course, her beautiful husband with whom she'd made and raised her own babies. Being in the hospital to add another branch to their family tree always made her sentimental, and as she sat down beside Alejandro she sniffled a little.

The soft noise of it had her son stirring, and he blinked rapidly. 'Mami? Everything alright?'

'Javi?' Now it was Mere who stirred at the sound of her husband's voice. 'Rosalita, everything okay?'

'They've taken Lili down to the birthing room. She isn't needing any surgery, they've decided and already have her pushing. Our grandson, your nephew, will be here before midnight.' She smiled, swiped at her eyes. 'The doctor is letting Cameron assist in the delivery, just like with the last one.'

'Rosa,' Alejandro muttered, looped his arm around her slender body. 'We have another grandbaby already?'

'Almost, Alejo.'

'I like that name,' Meredeth murmured to Esposito. 'Alejo? If we have a boy the next time, I think we should put that on the table.'

'Maximillian Alejo Jimeno. I like that too.' He kissed her, then glanced over when he saw Cam at the door in his scrubs and the tilted sneakers he wore so he didn't need his cane at work. 'Cam? The baby's here?'

He nodded excitedly, and the Espositos, one and all, stood up to embrace him cheering him on and giving him tight squeezing hugs. When Rosie wrapped her arms around his legs, he bent to pick her up and gave her a noisy kiss on the cheek.

'It was a hard push and the doctor wants her to get as much rest as possible so he said no visitors until tomorrow morning,' he confessed with a little guilt - he wanted his family there to see his son. 'Only Rosie and I are allowed in to see Duncan and Lili. We're using his middle name to avoid confusion with mine.'

'Good plan.' Esposito gave his brother-in-law a hearty slap on the back and grinned. 'Congrats again, bro, tell Lili we'll be in to see her tomorrow, okay?'

'You got it.'

'Baby here?' Tessi mumbled as she nestled against her mother's shoulder. 'Rosie big sis?'

'Yes, honey, she's a big sister now.'

'Wan' be big sis.'

'Soon, my princess,' Meredeth said with a loving look at her husband. 'Very soon.'

* * *

It was just past midnight when they got to Chelsea, and Meredeth was groaning. At least the next day was Saturday and she didn't have to be at the studios downtown working on the production of the miniseries, just keeping an eye on Tessi and Dell. And yet as she watched her husband tuck Tessi into bed, she felt that rush she always got when she looked at him with their baby.

A thought occurred to her and she went into the bedroom, fished the toy-box out of the bottom of her night-stand. They'd had to find a new spot for it after Tessi had wandered in and thought the little bottles of colourful massage oils were finger-paints. She found the Kama-Sutra playing cards the girls had all gotten in their gift-bags from Lanie's bachelorette party and began to shuffle them.

The little flutters she'd felt when she'd watched Esposito that night grew as he walked into the bedroom and she gabbled a string of incoherent at him when he reached for his belt.

'I thought you might like to have a little game of poker.'

'Mere, I'm tired and I was hoping we might take another crack at that whole making-a-bro-or-sis-for-Tessi thing tonight.'

'Consider this foreplay.'

Esposito looked at her, saw the deck of cards she held in her hands. He remembered using them on New Years - each rank had a different sex position and they'd tried out three, ten and the queen suggestions. Cursing himself a fool after a long day, he came over to the bed. 'Five card, fours are wild, wedding rings and glasses are not part of the bet.'

'Deal, and deal.'

Within thirty minutes, Esposito had lost his socks, belt, watch and shirt while his beloved was down to her wedding rings and a smile. Though he felt a little bad that her luck wasn't so hot tonight, he knew she wouldn't stay that way for long. He scooped up the cards and shuffled with a wink and a smile.

'Tell you what, since you're way farther ahead than I am, this will be a sudden death round. High card takes it all.'

'Whaddaya mean, takes it all? I've got nothing left!'

He reached over and wrapped the bedsheet around her shoulders. 'Now you do. Ready?'

'On three.'

They counted it down and flipped over their cards, which had Meredeth letting out a triumphant yell as she looked at her jack while her hubby was staring down a six. 'Finally! Get naked, baby.'

'If you insist.'

He stood up, stripped for his wife as she watched him with unmasked and gleeful lust in her eyes. It never failed to boost his ego when he saw that look in her eyes. He knelt on the bed in front of her, took the sheet from around her shoulders and wrapped himself in it as well so they were effectively in their own little cocoon. His lips found hers as his hands roamed over her back, reaching down to pull her tight against him. The feel of her body, soft and lush and supply against his made his blood swim hotly and he sighed deeply in appreciation for her.

'Mere,' he murmured, 'you are so tasty.'

'I love you Javi.'

'Love you too, Mere.'

Meredeth let her head fall back, gasping when his mouth streaked down her throat, making her pulse pound hard. He had such wonderful lips, they were one of her favourite features of his. Her arms came around him, kneaded his shoulders as she leaned back, tumbling them to the bed so she was underneath her man. That tough, disciplined body, so hard and yet had some very sensitive spots she knew, turning her head so she could kiss the side of his neck in a slow wet trail. She heard him groan in anticipatory delight, felt his grow between her thighs where she was already beginning to dampen for him.

Esposito sighed as he ran his hands over her body, his wife and the mother of his child. She was a dream come true in heart and mind and love. She handled the stress of being a cop's wife in stride because she loved him, and had always accepted him as who he was, and for that Esposito would gladly take a bullet to keep her safe. His hand slid up her ribcage to cup her breast, teasing her nipple with his thumb; the move made her moan deeply, arching her hips against his. The feel of her growing wet for him made his body respond in kind, and when he lowered his mouth to replace his thumb, he heard her swear loudly at the shock-waves he sent through her system.

Five years, Meredeth thought, over five years they'd been together and he could still make her feel like the sexiest woman alive. She pressed her sweat-slicked palms to the back of his head as she stroked the arch of her foot over the back of his leg. 'Javi,' she murmured to him in a voice rusted with desire, 'use your mouth on me, baby.'

'I am,' he replied in the same sex-drenched tone.

'Lower.'

Knowing how to make her want it even more, Esposito moved his mouth to the valley between her breasts, kissed the undercurve of one. 'Here?'

'Lower.'

He moved down so he was kissing her an inch above her navel. 'Here?'

'Lower,' she said again, the ripple he'd started working into a full blown tidal wave as he tortured her. He was such a tease, she thought absently, until she felt his mouth go even lower to the place where she ached for him. 'There.'

Esposito smiled as he lapped at her, keeping his hands on her thighs to keep them apart. He knew her body well and knew that doing so would make her feel even naughtier. His tongue dipped and swirled over her as her hands kept him in place while her hips began to rock, ripples of pleasure running over her skin from head to foot. As she began to tense and tremble, his hand moved from her thigh to part her heated lips so he could drive his tongue inside her and make her cry out his name at the sudden avalanche of sensation, the orgasm tumbling through her.

'Javi!' She choked it out with whatever air there was left in her lungs, and saw him lift his head from her body, a pleased look on his face. 'Now, baby, please.'

Since he had only the brain power to answer her pleas, Esposito took her hand in his, kissed her palm before he guided it down between them to position him above her entrance. He kept his eyes on hers as he slid deep inside her and smiled when he heard the classic little 'oh!' she made before a smile mirroring his painted her lips. She moved with him, slow at first, then increasing in speed until she was moaning his name in extended syllables as her second orgasm built and exploded through her.

'Mere,' he managed through gritted teeth as she went up again and he felt his own need rise to match hers. 'Mere, I love you, I'm gonna...I...'

'I love you too.'

It was the last thing he heard before his mind went blank and his body slipped off the high-wire into the free-fall of pleasured release.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	2. Saint Patty's Day: ? Weeks

The morning of Saint Patrick's Day, Esposito awoke over an hour earlier than usual. It was going to be a dogfight on the subway just to get to the station and there would be little to no help from the uniforms as they were all being used, along with the academy cadets in patrolling the parade route. At least Ryan was back now from his parental leave so he wouldn't be totally sunk and they had more than enough paperwork to keep them occupied without venturing into the urban safari of New York City on a holiday.

He groaned lightly, then reached for Meredeth only to find her gone. Concerned, as Meredeth was not a morning person in the slightest, he popped up in bed to see the light on underneath the closed door of the ensuite. What the hell was she doing up so early, he wondered, then remembered she'd been up early in the bathroom every morning since Monday - to take another pregnancy test. It was now Friday and they'd been holding their breath almost all week Esposito hadn't even told Ryan yet, nor had Meredeth told Lanie.

Swinging his feet to the floor and dreaming of coffee Esposito yawned widely, then turned his attention to his wife when she came out of the bathroom looking giddy as a little kid on Christmas.

'So?' he asked excitedly. 'We have liftoff?'

'All systems are go, Houston.'

He let out a laugh and was on his feet as she raced over to him, into his arms and he crushed his mouth to hers in an excited kiss as he felt her shudder. 'Let's have a look,' he told her, holding out his hand for the stick while keeping an arm around his wife. He turn it over and saw there was a little digital window that read _Pregnant_.

'That's five for five, I don't think there's any doubt.'

'I'm pregnant,' she confirmed for him, making Esposito's heart leap like a Russian ballerina. He pressed his hand to her belly, so excited to watch it grow with another child they'd made together.

'I love you so much, Mere.'

'I love you too.'

'We going to tell everyone at the party tonight?'

'I'd like to wait, only until Monday when I have my appointment with Harvey,' she told him. 'Is that okay?'

'Whatever you want, Mere, you're the mama.'

Overjoyed at the knowledge they would be parents again, Meredeth gave her husband a python-squeezing hug followed by another steaming kiss. 'I know you've got to get to the precinct so we can't really celebrate just exactly how we want to, but I'll make waffles while you're in the shower. The really good ones, the sour cream coffee cake ones.'

'You're the best wife ever, Mere,' he told her, his face shining with pride. 'You're going to be a great mama, again.'

* * *

As expected Esposito had the day from hell. He was so over the moon about his beautiful Meredeth pregnant again but since they'd agreed to keep it to themselves until Monday he was forced to keep his mouth shut and bury his face in paperwork. Not that he was angry with her for it, it was her body and therefore in his mind her decision. It wasn't even that they were hiding it from their friends, they just wanted - needed - to see Harvey first.

For the moment, the question that burned the most in his mind was the party. Castle was having a huge Saint Patty's blow-out, grown-ups only, and the year before at the same party, Meredeth had nearly drank her own body weight in Guinness and sour-apple shooters. Could they just skirt it by saying that since they were trying for another baby, Meredeth had cut out alcohol and so had Esposito to ensure good motility? Maybe, but that felt even more like a lie than keeping the happy news to themselves.

'Hey, Javi, whatcha think, has Jenny's taste in ties improved or what?'

Esposito glanced up from his file to see the truly awful emerald green silk tie that was patterned with what appeared to be marshmallows from a box of _Lucky Charms_. 'Remember when I said the neon bubbles on blue silk made me want to rip my eyes out?'

'Yeah.'

'I stand corrected. Are you twelve?'

'What, it's Saint Patty's, I'm Irish-American, makes perfect sense to me.'

'I'm Puerto-Rican, you don't see Meredeth picking out ties for me with the motherland flag and letting me leave the house with them on _Día del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico._'

'Actually Dell picked this one out for me,' Ryan corrected, knowing it would make his partner snort in derision and wasn't disappointed when he

Fortunately before Ryan could dig a whole any deeper, the elevator doors dinged and the proud Castle and Beckett walked in with RJ strapped to her chest in the same style of baby sling that both Meredeth and Lanie had favoured. They walked side-by-side over to Esposito's desk, as Castle explained

'And you remember Javi and Kevin, don't you RJ? They're the ones who are going to teach you all about football fantasy leagues.'

'Hey, how's the little prince doing?' Ryan allowed the cop to switch off for a moment as he looked down at the newest Castle. RJ was a looker, no question and was staring back at the detective with bright and curious blue eyes as he squirmed a little against his mother. He gave a little gummy smile and waved his arms. 'He's getting big, Kate.'

'He's three months and fifteen days old,' Beckett told them proudly, 'and he's already trying to roll over in his crib, and he loves when we play on Daddy's Smartboard together, all those bright shapes and colours. Where are you on the Benson file?'

'That's impressive, you're a cop and a mom all in one sentence,' Esposito teased her, getting in his digs while he could before it was his turn for the next seven months. 'CSU sent over their report, no hairs matching our vic on Miller's sheets but plenty from an unknown third party, and the markers indicate it's the same sweetness who was boning him in his bed sans raincoat.'

'So Benson's ex has an alibi that checks out?'

'Looks like.'

'Hmm.' Beckett furrowed her brow, looked down at her son. 'Which means we need to figure out who the mystery lady is to corroborate, don't we? Can you say corroborate RJ?'

'Don't mind me,' Castle added, reminding both men he was actually still there. 'I'm just here to look pretty and be the proud daddy, and to give you these.'

He handed over snapshots of himself, Beckett and Alexis in various combinations with RJ at home, and Esposito felt the liquid rush in his veins as he saw the pure exhilaration on their faces at being with the new baby. He couldn't wait for that once more with Meredeth, to put another picture of her and the new baby, and Tessi and a new sibling on his desk.

'Espo? Yo, you in there bro?'

'Huh?'

Castle snapped his fingers under his friend's nose. 'You're awfully spacy. Dreaming about more baby-making with Meredeth?'

'Something like that.'

'Well look alive, because there comes Montgomery with his read-the-fine-print-on-the-badge face on. Not cool.'

Esposito glanced over and cursed inwardly. 'Sir, happy Saint Patty's.'

'Save it, Detective, I need you and Ryan down on Thirty-First and Seventh, stabbing outside the Garden. Weaver's already there waiting for you.'

'Yes sir.'

* * *

As promised, the party at Castle's was a strictly grown-ups only affair, unlike Hallowe'en. Fortunately, one of Castle's neighbours downstairs had volunteered their teenage daughters looking for a little extra cash to babysit so if there was a problem they were an elevator ride away. The loft was packed and it reminded Esposito that despite being attached at the hip with Beckett, he had his own career nearly twenty-years long before he hooked up with them.

'Espo! And Lady Espo!'

Meredeth turned around and grinned. As expected, Ryan was covered head-to-foot in green and since he wasn't on-call and had the next day off, he was full of cheer and good Irish whiskey.  
'Kiss me, I'm Irish,' he declared greeting them with warm, drunken hugs.

'I'd rather kiss my Puerto-Rican,' she teased him, but obliged with an innocent peck on his cheek; the vicious whiskey-breath he had made her thankful she wasn't Honey-Milk who would deal with him in the morning. He wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders, guided them to the bar.

'Come, my lass, time to get you and your man some green beers!'

Meredeth glanced at Esposito, thought of their little hitch-hiker. 'Actually, I'm good I'll just have water or something.'

'Water? Water, says you? Pish and tosh to that,' Ryan declared in his faux-brogue. 'Only reason you can't drink on Saint Patty's is if you're pregnant, so...' he trailed off, cluing into the excitement in his partner's and lady's eyes. 'No way, seriously?'

'Seriously.'

'Oh, man. Dude!' He pulled them both in for bone-crushing bear-hugs, then patted his chest. 'I have to make the announcement.'

'Ryan!' Meredeth tried to hiss but was laughing to hard to make it effective.

Looking around, Ryan found a chair and though he'd had a couple of drinks he wasn't so drunk he would risk any harm. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly, bringing everyone's attention on him.

'Excuse me, partygoers, I have a small anouncement to make. If you see my partner Javier Esposito and his wife Meredeth tonight, these fine people right here,' he said, pointing grandly to the happy couple, 'do not give her any alcohol because it's not right for a pregnant woman to drink!'

Everyone at the party gasped dramatically and began to cheer, toasting the parents to be even as their cheeks burned bright red. Ryan hopped down off his perch and grinned from ear to ear while Esposito tried his damnedest to level him with a look.

'Are you happy now that you've anounced to the entire room I've been nailing my wife with a purpose?'

'Very, because I consider it a little retribution for being witness to the making-of of Tessi.'

Meredeth shook her head, and wasn't surprised when Lanie wandered over with her soft Coke, a wide grin on her face. 'Mere! Oh my god, honey, congratulations! When did you find out?'

'This morning, I took a bunch of home tests and they all popped positive, so I'm seeing Harvey on Monday morning.'

'That is so exciting! You'll have Tessi and a new little bub!' Lanie wrapped her arms around her friend, then pointed her in the direction of the bar. 'Don't worry Javi, I'll have her back in a moment.'

They didn't get very far, because Honey-Milk and Beckett had fought their way through the crowd to come over to their friends and each pull Meredeth in for a tight squeeze.

'Yea you, Mere! This is so great, Tessi's going to be a great big sister. Any idea yet when you're due?'

'Well...' Meredeth trailed off, did the math. 'My ovulation sticks said right around the time when Duncan was born was optimum for me to conceive, so that's January twenty-six, so roughly...' She counted on her fingers. 'About Hallowe'en or so?'

'Oh, we might be having trick or treats in the maternity ward! Have you told Tessi yet?' Honey-Milk asked. 'She's younger than Dell was so she will probably not have a lot of that sibling rivalry thing you might get in an older child.'

'No. We're waiting until we have the confirmation from Harvey on Monday, plus we need a day or two to figure out how to tell a not-even two-year-old she's going to have a little brother or sister.'

'Well, let's get you a drink and toast the little cutie's imminent arrival.' Beckett looped her arm through Meredeth's, then stopped her. 'Oh dear.'

'What?'

'That.'

The three women followed Beckett's pointed finger to where Castle had stood up on a chair like Ryan, Guinness draft in hand.

'Everyone, have a good time tonight, stay safe and remember, as is evidenced by our procreating friends Mere and Javi, you don't have to be Irish to get lucky!'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	3. Double Trouble: 7 Weeks

Despite the fact they were still cleaning up the mess from Saint Patty's the Friday before, Esposito managed to finagle the time from the captain to go with Meredeth to her appointment with Harvey on Monday morning. The straight-lined homicide-squad leader had a soft spot for his people when it came to the news of babies being made, probably because he was a family man himself and understood that there were times when the job had to be put on hold for them otherwise there might not be a family there in the future.

So he sat with his girl in one of the exam rooms in Harvey's office across the street from Saint Vincent's, who was trying not to wriggle like a puppy as she sat on the exam table.

'I really hope he only does a digital exam and doesn't use those,' she told her husband, pointing with a well-manicured finger to the tray of devices beside Esposito. 'Nothing says congratulations on your bouncing bundle of joy like a cold speculum shoved up your _skede_.'

'Man, I don't know who came up with the idea that women are weaker then men if nearly every sane woman in the western hemisphere is told, so you're going to strip down to your skin, throw your feet into the stirrups to put your _skede_ on display and have it prodded by Torquemada's crib-toys and they willing do it.' Esposito paused. 'You can think this is weird all you want but I'm asking anyways, what does it feel like?'

'Imagine sitting naked on a bike with no seat.'

He shifted, fought the urge to cross his legs. 'Ouch.'

'As for childbirth, even with drugs, imagine two people are tugging your testicles in opposite directions.'

'Again, ouch. And also, I love you.'

'I love you too.'

The door swung open and it felt a little funny to see Andrea and not Honey-Milk coming in with Harvey; Honey-Milk would be home with Dell and Mallory. Harvey, with his friendly, rugged face and calming sure voice gave them a smile. 'Well, welcome back Esposito family! I see we have a new addition coming. How have you been feeling, Meredeth, any fatigue or excessive vomiting?'

'A little nauseous and tired, mostly bloated and definitely temperamental,' she said with a sheepish glance at her husband. 'I may have gone a little banana-sandwich on my Javi when he didn't do the dishes like I asked.'

'Hey, I'll take that over you crying because you think I'll find you unattractive when you get even more pregnant. I hate seeing you cry, it makes me feel like slime.'

'A shared thought amongst all men,' Harvey assured him as he made notes in Meredeth's chart while Andrea set up the ultrasound equipment. 'Okay, Meredeth, let's have a look at your weight and your blood pressure, you've already had your blood drawn?'

'Yes.'

They went through the routine of her check-up, and Esposito had to admit, this time around it was a lot easier, he knew that the majority of the checks were simply for Meredeth's health so she could safely carry the baby to term and not to scare the bejesus out of an expectant father. He arched an eyebrow, though when Harvey skipped the pelvic check prior to the ultrasound.

'Since it's your second pregnancy, Meredeth,' Harvey explained, 'we'll do a visual check first and then see how your body is responding so far. If you could lie back, please, Andrea will have a look.'

'I didn't know you did this kind of medicine, Andy,' Meredeth said to the pretty nurse who was getting her equipment calibrated.

'Yeah, Honey-Milk and I did our fellowship on obstetric nursing last year. It's always a good compliment to pediatrics. This is going to feel a little cold.'

'Oh, I know.'

Meredeth propped one hand behind her head and smiled broadly when she felt her husband grip it excitedly. If she didn't know better, she'd have guessed he was a first-time daddy instead of seeing his second child on the screen again.

'Here we go.' Andrea squeezed on the cold blue gel, rubbed the sonogram wand over Meredeth's belly, pushed a few buttons on her screen. Since it was tilted away from the parents-to-be, they could only see her reaction. 'Huh, well fancy that.'

'What?' Meredeth immediately felt panic, gripped her husband's hand tightly. 'What is it? Is there something wrong?'

'Nothing to worry about. Doctor Harvey, I think you should have a look at this,' the technician said in a barely controlled obviously very excited voice. 'I'm reading that correctly, right?'

Harvey stepped over, pursed his lips and nodded. 'Yep, I think we should show them that right away.'

'For God sakes, what?' Esposito considered himself a patient man, but when it was his wife, his baby under the microscope he had the discipline of a shark in a feeding frenzy.

Andrea , and the room was filled with the echoing_ wob-wob-wob _of a baby's heartbeat as she held the wand over the side of Meredeth's stomach. 'That's baby one, and...' she moved over to the other side of the belly as the _wob-wob-wob_ was heard again. 'That's baby two.'

Esposito nearly fainted. 'T-Two? Two heartbeats? _Two_ heartbeats?'

'Oh my god!' Meredeth clasped her other hand over their joined ones as Harvey moved the image of the sonogram over so they could see it. Very clearly on the screen were two separate sacs, each with a flickering movement in the center like a pair of butterflies fluttering around in a Mason jar.

'Congratulations, you two. Looks like you've got twins on the way. Both healthy, strong heartbeats. Meredeth, I'm going to do a quick check, feet up like a good lass.'

Stunned by this turn of events, Meredeth complied and craned her neck to look at Esposito who was as thunderstruck as she was. He moved so he was sitting in the chair beside the exam table and gave her a light kiss, pulled back when she grunted in discomfort at Harvey's probing fingers.

'Yep, there are definitely two fertilized embryos in your uterus, Meredeth,' he told her, removing his hand and pulling off his protective gloves, 'and the gestational sacs are fully intact and strong, which means they will be carried to full term.'

'So, they won't be identical?'

'No, they'll be fraternal twins. Identical twins come from the same embryo. This is two eggs fertilized separately.'

'Like, from different times having sex?' Esposito asked.

'No,' Harvey chuckled. 'During her last ovulation, Meredeth's body released not one but two eggs and your sperm fertilized them both. It's a two-for-'

'Don't say it, Doctor Harvey,' Meredeth giggled. 'He doesn't like that phrase.'

'Who the fuck cares? We're having two new babies!' Esposito gave Meredeth a fierce kiss. 'You were worried we wouldn't have one, now we'll have three!'

'Andrea will get a printout and a video copy ready for you,' Harvey told them, 'if you could meet me in my office in a few minutes, I've got some literature I'd like to go over with you, since twins does change a couple of things.'

When they sat down in the chairs with Harvey in his private office, he smiled gently at them. 'So, many of the basics stay the same when you're having twins, particularly with your diet. That being said because you're carrying two foetuses, you will be gaining more weight than you did with Tessi. Not much, roughly ten to fifteen pounds more, but since your below even your pre-Tessi weight, this isn't something that you should be worrying about.'

'Okay,' Meredeth let out a little breath, as both she and Javi knew that this had been a major self-esteem obstacle the last time. 'What else.'

'Your due date. Given the growth of the foetuses already, you're just shy of eight weeks so I'm marking your due date as approximately November fifth. That being said you probably will not last that long.'

His bluntness had Esposito concerned. 'How do you know for certain?'

'Twins are almost always early, there's simply not enough room for them to grow any larger inside the mother. Roughly half are born at thirty-six weeks, which for a singleton baby is on the early side, but considered full term for two.'

'Will I have to have surgery for the birth?'

'That is something we'll discuss closer to the time, probably around eighteen to twenty weeks. Also, you need to sleep more this time around than with Tessi because don't forget you're growing two babies at the same time now, which brings me to my next point. You need to be extra careful about your positions for sleep, Meredeth, because the added weight of a multiple pregnancy can cause your blood pressure to lower much more early on and I don't think either of you wants a repeat of your little spell from before.'

Esposito thought of the afternoon when Meredeth had goen with him for moral support to Jeff Doran's trial and he'd had to rush her to the hospital since her blood-pressure was bottoming out. 'Definitely not. What about...being intimate?'

'Meredeth's checked out just fine so whatever you are feeling comfortable with, feel free to do so. Again, try to avoid positions where Meredeth would be on her back. I know she hasn't started showing yet, but it's easier to make a habit than to break one,' Harvey reminded him. 'I'll get your prescription for your prenatal vitamins written up, Meredeth, and I'd like to see you back here in three weeks. Since your pregnancy is a multiple one, you'll be having more frequent checkups.'

'What about telling people it's twins?' Esposito asked.

'That's up to you, whether you want to or not. So far, everything looks textbook for Meredeth and knowing she's a conscientious sort, you have little to no reason to worry that anything is going to go wrong. If the situation were different, I'd say wait, but since she's in excellent health and the babies are looking good and strong themselves it's your call. Meredeth, you've been awfully quiet, do you have any questions for me?'

'No, I think I'm still digesting it, you know?'

'It is a lot to taken in, but I can assure you, I've delivered plenty of healthy sets of twins and triplets and even a set of quints a few years back. Yes multiple births carry higher risk factors but those are often complications that stem from poor prenatal health or pre-existing conditions in the mother and you are sound as a pound.'

'Okay.' Meredeth patted Esposito's hand, and he could feel the nerves as she shook a little. 'So we'll see you in three weeks?'

'April eighth. And Meredeth, remember, the worst thing you can do is stress because that will tax your system even more. Not that I'm trying to tell you what to do, but you have an excellent support system in your friends and they are going to want to help you.'

'Thanks Doctor.'

She waited until Harvey had left before she sighed. 'Javi, what do you think, should we keep this to ourselves it's twins for awhile until we're certain or do you think Harvey's right?'

'Mere-'

'I know we're a team and we make decisions together, but I'm kinda freaking out right now, I mean what if something happens that-'

'Hey, hey, hey.' He took her face in his hands and gave her a supportive, tender kiss. 'Nothing is going to happen, you're going to be fine.'

'But what should we do?'

Esposito dragged a hand over his head. 'I think Harvey's right, I think we should tell our friends right away because I love you and I know you'll feel better with our friends supporting us through it. Remember, he said the worst thing you can do is stress, that's likely to cause more problems so letting them in on the secret is a much better idea.'

'Good answer.' Meredeth leaned in and kissed him. 'I love you so much, babe.'

'Love you too baby, and babies. So when should we drop the bomb?'

'I was thinking that little just-because party Castle's having next weekend. Everyone's going to be there.'

'Okay. But there is one person we have to tell before then.'

Esposito nodded. 'Yep, time to tell Tessi she's getting two siblings.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	4. Telling Tessi

When Esposito arrived home after shift that night, he figured he deserved an Oscar for the fact he didn't break down and tell everyone in the squad room that his wife was having twins. That kind of discipline was reached in only one of two ways - intense years of mental and spiritual training, and the threat of Meredeth taking away all baked goods.

By eight pm however, when he got home, he was finally ready to just wrap his arms around his wife and celebrate good and proper with her. It was one of the suggestions that Harvey had had for them, that even though a multiples pregnancy would automatically be in the high risk category there was no physical reason for them not to enjoy a healthy sex life as they had in Meredeth's previous pregnancy. In fact, it would probably be a very good thing for Meredeth, Esposito reasoned, as they pretty much lost themselves in each other when they would get up to the get-down.

Stretching as he walked in the door, he gave Arturo a healthy scratch on the neck and called out, 'Senora and Senorita Esposito, your dragon-slayer is home!'

'Ola, Dragon-Slayer we're in the bathtub!'

He took the stairs up and grinned when he saw Meredeth in her sweats as she lathered shampoo in Tessi's hair. 'We're getting ready for story time and bed time,' she informed.

'Daddy, books time!'

'What are we reading tonight?'

'Zoos.'

'I guessed as much, which Doctor Seuss?'

'Ros-Oss.'

'Robert the Red Rose Horse,' Meredeth explained, scooping up water and running over Tessi's dark curls. 'She likes the silly ones.'

'Well, she's a fan of Dell Ryan,' Esposito teased, then gave Meredeth a kiss. 'I'm gonna go get changed.'

By the time he was out of his work clothes and into his pyjama pants and t-shirt, Esposito felt a little bit more like himself. The layers he'd kept guarded around him once he'd gone back to the Twelfth were gone, because the only people here were his wife and child. And, he thought with a little laugh, his unborn children too.

He swung into Tessi's room, just in time to see Tessi pulling on her training pants. The girl didn't like diapers so they'd committed to trying to potty train her as quickly as possible.

'Big gull doors, Daddy!' she said proudly, then made like a scarecrow as Meredeth pulled on her pyjamas.

'Yes you've got your big girl drawers on don't you?'

'Baby wear dippers. Dell baby wear dippers.'

'Yes, Dell's baby wears diapers, because she is so very new and little.' Meredeth glanced up as Esposito sat in the oversized armchair by Tessi's bed; they'd gotten her the big-girl bed and put _Finding Nemo_ sheets on it for Christmas. 'Speaking of which Tessi, Mami and Daddy have something very important to tell you.'

Tessi's dark blue eyes glittered like jewels. 'I be big sis?'

'Yes, princess, you're going to be a big sister,' Meredeth told her daughter and was not surprised when Tessi jumped up and cheered.

'Yea! Dall Dell?'

'We have to wait to call Dell, honey,' Esposito laughed, 'he's at home and getting ready for bed too, but there's more Mami has to tell you.'

Like the good girl she was, Tessi sat back down on the bed beside her mother, and gave an excited little wiggle not unlike the one Meredeth had given when they were at the doctor's office that morning. 'More 'pises?'

'Sort of, you see, sometimes a Mami and Daddy get very lucky and they have twins, and that's what the doctor told me and Daddy this morning.'

'What tah-wins?'

'That means that Mami has two babies inside her right now.'

Tessi's little brow furrowed as she looked at her mother. She remembered what _tia_ Lili had looked like at Christmas and her mother didn't have that same big belly. 'They tiny?'

'Yes, they need time to grow big. They won't be here until Hallowe'en.'

'Oh.' Still slightly confused, she rubbed her hand over Meredeth's tummy. 'Tay inside, babies. No-yet.'

'That's very good advice, Tessi-boo,' Esposito said to his little girl, love for both his women spilling over in his heart. 'But you know that we still love you, right?'

'Uh-huh. I Pin-cess Tessi.'

'That's right you are, and Mami's going to need her Princess Tessi to be a big help around the house.'

'I help.'

'Yes you will be a very big help. There's another thing, too, though, honey. We're keeping it a surprise until we go to the party this weekend. Can I count on you not to spill the beans?'

Tessi scooted off the bed and went over to give her father a hug and a kiss. 'No worry, I got it.'

Esposito wrapped his arms around her and held tight, gave her head a kiss. 'You are the best little girl in the world, you know that?'

'I Pin-cess Tessi.'

'And never forget it. Now, Mami needs her rest so you and I are going to read together, okay?'

'Yea Daddy!' Tessi squirmed out of her father's embrace and raced over to her book shelf, pulled out the bright red book. 'Ros-Oss time.'

Knowing he wanted the time with his little girl just the two of them, Meredeth slipped out, went into her own room and after stripping off her Tessi-bath t-shirt stretched out on the bed to stare at the ceiling. She ran her hands over her belly, her breasts, though of how they were going to change, and change very quickly this time around. Harvey had said she would gain more weight but that wasn't so much an issue this time around, not having been through it before. Because she'd paid close attention to her diet - she probably had never eaten so healthy in her life as when she'd been carrying Tessi - the pounds had come off far easier than she'd imagined. And in the grand scheme of things, nine months out of almost thirty-seven years wasn't so long, really. Not when the prize on the other side of those nine months was not one but two brand new babies, beautiful little minglings of her genes with her beautiful hubby's.

As she wondered whether they would have same-sex twins or a mix-and-match pair, the bedside phone rang. Meredeth reached over for it and swallowed a little at the Caller-ID. _Lili & Cam_. They hadn't been present at Castle's Saint-Patty's party, owing to Cam being on nights and Lili being home with the kids; her son wasn't even two months old, there was no way she would have been in a party mood anyways, nor did she want to leave Duncan at home with a sitter.

She pressed the _Talk_ button and cleared her throat. 'Hello.'

'Ola, _cunada_, what's going on?'

'Oh not much, just putting Tessi to bed.' And coming to terms with the fact I am now having two babies at once with your brother, she added silently. 'You want me to go get him, Lil?'

'Sure, if you don't mind.'

'Okay.'

Meredeth put the call on hold and went back into Tessi's room, where Esposito was tucking her into her Nemo-bed.

'Night-night Tessi-boo.'

Daddy, Dush?'

'Crush is right here, princess.' Esposito handed his daughter her beloved stuffed turtle and kissed her cheek. 'Sweet dreams.'

He straightened up and saw Meredeth holding out the phone like it was a nuclear device, waited until they were in the hallway before he took it from her. 'Who is it?'

'The Foghorn.'

'Oh damn, you didn't say anything yet, did you?'

'Of course not.'

Esposito took a bracing breath, and with Meredeth's hand in his, they went into the bedroom before he put the handset on speaker phone. He sat down on the bed and pulled Meredeth down with him, his arms around her middle and hands over her belly in a protective way. 'Lili, _como estas_, what's going on?'

'I need a sitter on Thursday night. Cam's working nights until Friday and I have to take Rosie to swimming lessons.'

'What time?'

'Around six, for about two hours.'

'Sure, we can do that,' Meredeth said off Esposito's subtle nod, then smiled as he drummed his fingers lightly on her belly. 'Listen, Lili, Javi and I have some big news.'

The shriek that came through the phone was loud enough to shatter glass. 'Ah, you're pregnant! You are, aren't you! How far along? When am I an aunt again?'

'Hallowe'en,' Esposito laughed as he heard his sister calling for her husband. 'Lucita, you're going to wake up your kids.'

'Duncan's still awake and Rosie could sleep through a nuclear explosion. Cameron! Guess what! Mere is having another baby!'

There was a small sound of the phone being passed to Cam, then his voice on the line. 'Mere, that true? You having another Es-pawn-sito?'

'Yes, I am.'

'Hey that's great, have you told Rosita and Alejo yet?'

'No, but we're having dinner together tomorrow night, we're telling them then. Think you can sit on this egg, as it were, until then?' Esposito asked.

'I promise on Rosie and Duncan. Oh, please let me plan the baby shower, please?'

'If you like, just nothing big and over the top.'

'Okay, I won't keep you gusy, I'm sure you want to...celebrate.' Lili drew out the word to tease them both, then laughed. 'Keep my niece or nephew safe, I'll see you Thursday.'

Meredeth hung up the phone, leaned back against Esposito. 'Why didn't you tell her about there being more than one pea in the pod?'

'She's coming to Castle's on Friday for the just-because dinner. And given that she is such a loud-mouth, I don't want her to risk ruining our fun.'

'Speaking of fun...'

Esposito shifted so Meredeth was tipped back in his arms like he was Rudolph Valentino in _The Sheik_ and pressed his lips to hers. 'You and I have some very hot celebrating to do.'

'Yeah we do,' she agreed with a devilish grin.

They tugged at each other's clothing until they were naked together, recreating the night they'd made their little miracles, and as Esposito had hoped, it helped to alleviate some of the fear he knew had dogged Meredeth since leaving Harvey's office. When they'd finished and were wrapped together in the tangled bedsheets, he brushed his hand over her brow, tapped the subtle dent in her chin with his index finger.

'I love you, Mere.'

'I love you too, Javi.' She turned her head so her ear rested on his chest to hear his heart thundering away in a post-sex double-time. 'I think I'm going to go back to Nicole, the nutritionist. I had a look at the literature that Harvey gave us after you went back to work and it said the number one cause of complications is not getting the right nutrients so I think having a proper diet is going to go a long way to giving us both some peace of mind.'

'Like I said Mere, I'm here for all three of you,' he replied, giving the top of her head a kiss. 'I was thinking too, on the way home, about how to tell everyone.'

'Yeah?'

'Uh-huh.' He detailed his plan to her and wasn't surprised when she laughed uproariously. 'You like it?'

'I love it! Their heads are going to blow up, especially Lanie's. She's already started picking out which of Carey's clothes she wants to donate if we have a boy.'

'About that, I guess we're going to have to know ahead of time this time around, aren't we?'

'True, but then, all bets are off with twins.'

'True,' he echoed, then groaned when his cell rang. 'Oh, dammit. Esposito. Yeah, I'll see you in twenty. Duty calls, my love.'

'We'll be here when you get home. There's iced tea and some cookies downstairs if you want to take them with you.'

Esposito grinned. He really did have the best wife in the world.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	5. Dinner at Castle's: 8 Weeks

By Friday afternoon, Meredeth's head was spinning and not from the dregs of all-day morning sickness - thankfully these babies had taken a page out of Tessi's book and taken it easy on her that way. She and Esposito had told his parents there was not one but two more babies coming at the end of October and she'd never been so thankful to have a home-cooked meal with Rosalita and Alejandro as that night, for the shriek her mother-in-law let out would have been enough to get them escorted out of a nice restaurant. This was coupled with the frustrated outburst that Lili and Cam didn't know there was twins coming because they wanted to surprise everyone at the get-together at Castle's on Friday. Rosalita had grumbled into her strawberry-apple crumble through the rest of dinner, occasionally reminding her son in sharp-tongued Spanish that his sister was not a little girl anymore and could keep a secret. As Esposito knew this to be nothing more than his mother trying to run interference on her grown children, he simply nodded politely and said he'd talk to Meredeth, knowing full well that she'd agree they made the right call.

Then there was her daughter. Tessi was absolutely in love with the idea of being a big sister, but Meredeth could tell she wasn't really understanding it entirely, particularly when Meredeth had been resting on Thursday afternoon after a half-day at the studios, and the tot had gotten grumbly.

'Mami, you no fun,' she'd pouted and since Meredeth couldn't really argue that point at the moment, she'd told Tessi to pick out a book they could read together. The gesture somewhat satisfied Tessi, but she still had her little face in a foul mood even when Esposio had arrived home from work that night.

Aside from dealing with her irritated child, Meredeth had also told the producers of the new miniseries that she was pregnant with twins and they'd been sympathetic, cutting back her office hours and instead arranging for her to be in a teleconference for the majority of the work day. Meredeth didn't like the idea that she couldn't be in there hands on all the time like she'd been with the first production, but the thought of doing anything to cause her body extra strain like a ten or twelve hour work-day with a high risk pregnancy like hers scared her more than her frustration irritated her. She was not going to let a single thing happen to put her body under any more pressure than absolutely necessary. Even if it meant going a little stir-crazy out of boredom, Meredeth knew that she would have a much easier time with it knowing she was ensuring the babies' safety.

Finally, finally Friday had arrived, the bright spot of an otherwise emotional week. Tonight would be an emotional night as well, but in a far nicer sense because they knew their friends and knew they would react. Meredeth swiped on her lipgloss, smacked them together and reassured herself of this positive fact as she finished getting ready to go to Castle's.'

'Lookin' good, Mere,' Esposito said, studying her cute behind. He loved her curvy body and loved that it was going to grow again with babies coming to life inside her. He'd never understood why his older cousins had bitched about vasectomies or infertility when he was in his twenties, because as far as he could tell all of those men had spent their lives avoiding having children, yet once they'd made them with their wives, they couldn't bear the thought of losing that power. Now, having had a daughter and expecting two more little ones, he understood it far better than he ever imagined.

And how he'd gotten from thinking to his wife's gorgeous child-bearing ass to his cousins' fertility concerns was anyone's guess. Probably just anxious about telling their friends, he decided. Pushing it to the corners of his mind, Esposito went over, gave her a hug from behind as he laid his lips on her neck. 'You smell delicious.'

'And tonight, after the party's over you get to see if I taste as good as I smell,' she replied in a sultry tone that had Esposito's eyebrow arching.

'So, since you're having two babies this time around, are you going to be doubly horny or what?'

'I have no clue,' Meredeth laughed. 'All I know is that I am going to take good care of my health and sex is excellent for keeping the system tuned up, and you definitely know how to...tune me.'

Esposito groaned as his blood moved a little quicker in his veins. 'See you say things like that, and I get all juiced up and just wanna-'

'Mami, Daddy, rea-dy?' Tessi told them from her spot on the bed, watching her parents finish getting themselves set for the party. 'Dell wait.'

'I know Dell's waiting to see you, sweetheart.' Meredeth gave her husband a little peck on the cheek and went over to her daughter. 'Remember what we talked about?'

'No tellin'. Pise.'

'That's right, and who gets to tell everyone the surprise?'

'Daddy. Bing Dush?'

'Yes you can bring Crush. Now let's go find your coat.'

* * *

They were greeted at the loft by both the man of the house and the heavenly aroma of Mexican spices. Surprisingly, for his privileged background and upbringing, Castle was a hell of a cook and had invited them to the loft for all sorts of deliciousness. He greeted them with a smile and a warm hug for Meredeth.

'I'll be gentle, I don't want to squish Junior in there.'

'Who Ju-ner?' Tessi asked Esposito, tugging on his hand as they walked inside.

'Rick is teasing Mami,' he told her, then knelt to unzip her coat. 'Remember what we said?'

'You tell 'pise.'

'Atta girl.'

'Tessi!' Dell raced over with Carey and Rosie hot on his heels. He gave her a squeezing hug and tugged on her hand. 'Come see my Marsh-Mallory-Mallow, she is getting big.'

'Mami?'

Meredeth nodded at her daughter. 'It's okay princess, go ahead.'

Tessi shyly held out her hand and Dell looped his arm through hers, guiding her over to the living room where Honey-Milk, Lanie and Beckett were all sitting with their babies. Over in the kitchen, Ryan, Lili and Cam were working on something Meredeth assumed had to do with dinner and Dave was nowhere to be seen.

'Drink, Mere? I have all the fixings for a virgin margarita, daiquiri, mojito or capihrana.' Castle walked over, gesturing to his bar station on the island.

'Oh, margarita, please.'

'Mere!'

The mother to be looked past Castle's shoulder to see Lili, beautiful as ever, stripping off her apron and catching her sister-in-law in a fierce embrace. She reached up, slapped her palms to Meredeth's cheeks. 'Congrats, _cunada_, you are going to love having a little one again. I sure did with Duncan, there's nothing like holding that little life in your arms and going, I did this.'

She flung her arms around Meredeth once more, rocking and twisting until Meredeth tapped her shoulder lightly. 'Um, Lil? Oxygen?'

'Right, right. Sorry, I'm just so excited for you guys, really.'

Meredeth shook her head as she took her drink from Castle and went over to sit down with the other women who were chatting while they passed around the babies to be held and kept an eye on the toddlers; neither Beckett nor RJ were amongst them so Meredeth assumed they were upstairs in the nursery. Honey-Milk stood up and gave her another hug, as she was the one without a baby in her arms.

'Mere, congrats again, you look so motherly and glowing tonight, it's great,' Honey-Milk gushed, which had Lanie nodding in agreement.

'That turquoise looks great on your skin,' Lanie said, then picked up her phone when it buzzed with an incoming text. 'Dave is on his way, he just finished working a double at noon today so he stayed behind to sleep for a little bit.'

'So, maybe a little later, you can give us all the juicy deets on how this one was made, since we all found out about the last one?' Lanie wiggled her eyebrows.

'Nosy,' Meredeth teased her; she sipped her drink, then saw Honey-Milk was eyeing her suspiciously. 'What?'

'There's something, I just can't quite put my finger on it, you look different than you did with Tessi.'

'Well, whatever it is, it will have to wait because the food is ready to go,' Cam announced, walking over with his lacquered bamboo cane. 'Go wash up and prepare to have your tastebuds whimpering in delight.

* * *

They ate at an extended table in the open space of the loft, with the little ones scattered between their parents and eating their little veggie quesadillas or soft tacos while the grown-ups had enchiladas, chimichurries, cemitas and other assorted delicacies. Beside her, Meredeth could sense Esposito's growing anxiety and anticipation - he loathed making speeches to groups on an intimate level yet he was all but bursting at the seams to tell everyone about the twins. For a moment, Meredeth wondered if he was going to hyperventilate into unconsciousness before he could even stand up.

Castle, thankfully as host, stood up with his double-barreled daiquiri and unknowingly put his friend at ease. 'I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight, it's been a crazy couple of months since last summer and especially since Christmas. In the last seven months we've had four babies born and another one announced so getting together like this isn't always easy but it's what family does and I'd believe that all these little ones we keep sprouting will be doing the same thing in twenty-five years time. To family.'

Everyone clinked their drinks together, and under the table, Meredeth gave Esposito's a squeeze. 'You can do it, baby,' she murmured and it was her simple words that gave Esposito the courage to stand up and clear his throat as well.

'I'd also like to propose a little toast, to Meredeth, soon to be mother of my three children, here's hoping your next miniseries is another mega-hit,' Esposito said, raising his beer to his bride as everyone around them all touched glasses. It wasn't until they'd tucked back into their meals that he saw Ryan furrowing his brow in confusion.

'Wait, you said mother of...oh my god!'

His knife and fork clattered comically to his plate and he leaped out of his chair to haul his partner, his brother, to his feet and give him a bear hug. 'Dude! You knew all week and didn't say?'

As Ryan pulled Meredeth to her feet to give her the same treatment, everyone stared at Ryan like he'd lost his mind while trying to fill in the huge gap in Ryan's leap of logic. Finally it was Dave who picked up the torch. 'I worked a double yesterday and I'm still a little bit sleepy, someone mind filling me in?'

'Think about it,' Ryan said in a giddy voice. 'Espo said Meredeth is the mother of his _three_ babies but they've only got one right now, so...'

'Twins!' Lili shrieked, leaping up much in the same manner that Ryan had. 'Twins! _Los gemelos_, Javi? Mere?'

'_Si_, Lili, _los gemelos_,' Meredeth confirmed, unable to hide the smile any longer.

Around the table, everyone forgot their food and sprang to their feet to congratulate the parents to be; the outpouring of it had Meredeth weeping joyfully and Esposito choked up as well. As she gave Honey-Milk a tight hug, she felt little hands on her knees and looked down to see Dell there with a tissue in his hand.

'Here you go, Meredeth. Daddy always gives Mama a tissue when she cuh-ries, even happy tears.' He looked at Tessi, who was still in her high chair between Lanie and Meredeth. 'Tessi will be an ex-cell-ent big sis. I am always happy to help.'

'Thank you, honey.'

She looked over at her husband and felt her heart flutter happily in her chest, as he accepted the slaps on the back and fed the birds with friends. She could tell the hormones were already kicking in as she fantasized about getting him alone that night.

'Okay, okay,' Castle said, getting everyone settled back at the table. 'Happy as we are for Javi and Mere, we really should keep eating.'

'Agreed,' Esposito concurred, covering Meredeth's hand with his. 'After all, she's eating for three.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	6. Lean On Me

They managed to settle back in and continue eating, though now the dinner conversation had been drastically changed to the subject of the newly-announced twin pregnancy. Honey-Milk, Dave and Cam being in the medical field that dealt specifically with children and babies had plenty of advice to offer but to Esposito's surprise, they were more concerned about showing Meredeth emotional support than anything else. By the time they were finished and cleaning up, Meredeth could already feel some of the early edges of pregnancy fatigue setting in.

'Rick, I really want to stay and help with the clean-up but I need to lie down for a few minutes, do you mind-'

'Not at all, Mere, take Alexis' room upstairs. You know the way.'

'I'm going to go with her for a little bit.' Esposito wiped his mouth on his napkin, saw that Tessi was perfectly content in the company of Dell and Rosie as they were drawing and colouring on the floor in the living room so he had no qualms about following his bride upstairs.

The moment her head hit the pillow, Meredeth let out a shaky sigh, not surprised she was feeling a little overwhelmed. The outpouring of pure love and support for them from their friends - their family - had been monumental, there was no way anyone could feel frightened or scared about something this big with that kind of cheer-squad in their corner.

Esposito slipped onto the bed behind her, linked their hands which he rested on her belly. 'I know, Mere,' he murmured, kissing the back of her neck. 'I know, babe.'

'I love you Javi.'

'Love you too Mere.'

'I'm not sad or worried, just...humbled,' she decided, 'I can't believe my good fortune some days, that I have you and Tessi and these amazing people in my life.'

'And two new ones soon too,' he added. 'And if we have a boy, we can name him Antonio.'

This had Meredeth laughing, and she turned over on her side to kiss him; her tears nearly started up again when she felt his hand over her belly where their babies were growing. 'I was doing some reading and I'm going to show sooner, and we'll feel them sooner, everything is in the fast-lane with twins, apparently,' she told him on a yawn. 'But I know no matter how big or how small I grow or shrink you will always love me because I'm your Mere and you're my Javi.'

'And that attitude right there is one of nine million, three sixty-four thousand, two-hundred and eight one reasons I love and adore every last kissable inch of you, Meredeth Dakkars. Here that, you two,' he said, lightly poking her belly, 'your mom is the best in the world.'

She laughed, then pulled him in for a kiss, which had him rolling on top of her and deepening the kiss. The sigh in her throat was soft and sweet, and she wondered if they might have time for a quick pet when they were interrupted by a knock.

'Espo, we're making coffee, you want any? There's also baby-friendly decaf and baby-friendly tea for you too, Mere,' Ryan said through the door.

'Go,' Meredeth told him, patting his shoulder. 'I would like a little rest anyways.'

'I'll come find you in twenty minutes, okay?'

He gave her an hour, because Esposito knew his wife and if she was admitting she needed a rest for a little bit, she was close to falling over with fatigue. When he went back up to bring her some tea and a wake-up kiss, he was grinning with wicked amusement. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he set the cup down on the bedside table and rubbed her shoulder softly.

'Wake up, Merry-Cherry. There's a little surprise for you downstairs.'

'Su-priss?' she slurred sleepily. 'Whassit?'

'You have to come downstairs. Here, have a drink.'

She sipped the tea, sweet lemon with a dash of honey, then sat up knuckling her eyes just like Tessi did when she was waking up. 'What's going on? Where's Tessi?'

'Tessi is with her friends in the living room watching _Finding Nemo_ and the others, well...you'll see.'

Intrigued, Meredeth took her tea and went downstairs; sure enough, the little ones were watching the Pixar film and the grown-ups were in the kitchen. The dishes had been taken care of and were all sitting around studying something on Castle's Smart-Board, evidently debating plans of some kind.

'No, we can't take that week at all, Dave's taking a week's vacation so we can go to Anaheim to visit my dad. He hasn't seen Violet and Carey since Christmas and Dave's parents are going to Italy anyways for Easter,' Lanie pointed out.

'Well, the Monday and Friday are pretty much family times anyways, so we'll be seeing them plenty to begin with,' Cam offered.

'I've already got tickets to the Yankees-Sox pre-season opener on the fifth, six of them,' Castle said, 'and I'm away anyways, plus Alexis will be home the night of the third after her exams are finished, so Kate, RJ and Lex can go with them.'

'And then I can take that as an on-call day in case Mere needs anything during the day,' Beckett agreed.

'What is all this?' Meredeth asked, walking over. They all glanced up, and she could see they were all making notes on little note pads while Ryan and Honey-Milk oversaw the writing on the Smart-board.

'Here, Mere, have a seat.' Castle pulled up one of the very comfortable kitchen chairs for the mother to be. 'And watch.'

'We're creating a buddy-system calendar,' Honey-Milk said. 'Twin pregnancies are definitely higher risk and because you're growing two people instead of just one, your energy's going to be way more limited so we need to create a calendar of dates and helper-monkeys. Plus, having us around is going to help take your mind off worrying about them. Number two cause of complications after malnutrition is stress so as they say, many hands make light work.'

She flipped the digital calendar to the end of March. 'So we know you're still working somewhat on the miniseries, Mere, but when is your last day?'

'April fifth. The adaptation of the script will be done and I'm going to be back at home once more to work on the next story lines for.'

'Great.' Honey-Milk used the red marker to write 'Home Again' in a square on the April page, then went back to March. 'Next doctor's appointment?'

'April eighth.'

'Oh, I'm free,' Beckett chipped in. 'I'll take that one. Lanie, you want helper-monkey detail that day?'

'Only if I can get a sitter.'

'I'll be on nights rotation, I'll have the kids at home,' Dave said, stroking Lanie's arm. 'Carey would probably want to spend some time with Tessi, though, so I can have a daddy-daughter day with me.'

'Excellent. Javi, what about you, what's your schedule like?'

'I'm off the twenty-eighth, on-call the twenty-nine and have three days of court on the first-second-third,' he reminded her. 'You already got that one down.'

'Right, right.' Honey-Milk stood back, studied the board much as her husband would have studied a murder-board at work. 'Okay, so starting tomorrow, we are working through a rotation of dates and spending time together. You get a day for you and your day with your man, but after that, we are not letting you go anywhere without a buddy.'

'I'm pregnant, not incapacitated,' Meredeth started, then shrank back in her chair when she felt all of her friends' eyes bore holes in her skin.

'Mere, you are having twins which means you are automatically in the high-risk pregnancy category, you are going to be on bedrest at times and you will need all the help you can get,' Lanie told her. 'It doesn't mean you're weak or incapable, it just means you need a helping hand and since all of us are on maternity leave until at least the last week of July, we are going to be there for you and Esposito.'

'Yeah, you took great care of us, helping with the food and the supportive shoulders, even if we just needed someone to listen while we bitched because our hormones were making us crazy and our hubbies were at work,' Beckett added. 'Let us do this for you now.'

Afraid her tears would crop up yet again, Meredeth drank her tea, then made a little 'oh yeah' noise. 'Also, my nutritionist is doing a house-call with me on Monday.'

'Perfect, we'll make that a grocery day.' Honey-Milk tapped the screen and added a little green G icon. 'Has Harvey talked to you about possibly having a hydration pump?'

'No, what's that?'

'It's for women who get dehydrated really easily, you have a, it's like a fanny pack or a very tiny little purse that has an IV bag of fluid in it and you wear a portacath in your hip so you can be mobile while staying hydrated. But it's only if you've had your blood sugar go really low or you've had severe morning sickness.'

Esposito shook his head. 'Her bloodwork came back textbook and she's barely had any morning sickness.'

'That's good then, one less thing to worry about.'

'Ah-suh-cuse us, Mama.'

The grown-ups all looked over and saw Dell and Tessi standing by the island, each with pieces of paper in their hands. 'Whatcha up to, big guy? I thought you were watching _Nemo_,' Dave said.

'I was also duh-rawin' a picture with Tessi for Meredeth. I do both at the same time.' Dell held Tessi's hand as they walked over to Meredeth's chair. 'We think the babies will like this.'

'Babies like,' Tessi added, imitating Dell's words as best as she could.

'Let's have a look.' Esposito held out his hand and grinned when he saw the image in crayon - Tessi was there with Meredeth, who had been drawn with a very large belly and two little stick-figures inside it, and they were surrounded by a group of dinosaurs all facing away from them and baring their ferocious teeth at blobby looking shapes with equally nasty pointed teeth.

'There's Tessi and Meredeth and the babies inside her, and there's the germs and the dinos are keeping them away. They are the e-moon sy-suh-tem,' Dell explained in his patient little way, pointing to all the images.

'Derms,' Tessi added, pointing to the colourful blobs. 'I do derms.'

'Did you do those Tessi-boo? They're awesome,' Meredeth said giving daughter a hug; she grinned when Tessi put her little lips on her cheek and then patted Meredeth's tummy.

'No derms, babies.'

'That's right, no germs for babies.'

'Come on, Tessi, let's go finish watching the movie. I think the turtles are coming up soon.'

'Yea dur-dells! Dush, dush dush, dush,' she babbled and toddled off with Dell back to the TV screen.

Esposito watched them go and felt a small pang as he flash-forward fifteen years and had a mental image of Tessi going to her senior prom with that young man. What was it about those two that made them such a cute little pair? Clearing his throat, he set the artwork aside and focused back on the Smart-board calendar. 'This is all well and good, but how is this going to be of any use to us once we leave? It's not like we can take Castle's Smartboard in our pockets.'

'That's the best part, we are going to save it as a calendar and load it onto Meredeth's iPhone and iTouch so she'll have it with her always. She'll know who's invading on which day.' Honey-Milk smiled widely. 'She can even print a hard copy and you can keep it with you, if you like, Espo.'

'Good, because my day off I am taking her to the movies so that means I can call whoever is in the on-call box that day to babysit?'

* * *

By the time they made it home, both Tessi and Meredeth were ready for bed, and once the big-sister-to-be was cozy in her bed with Crush at her side, Meredeth lay on her side in her underwear while Esposito stripped down to his skin.

'You're right Mere, we are a very fortunate couple to have friends like that.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	7. Nutrition with Nicole

'Robina? It's Meredeth.'

'How's it going girl? Gil and I were bummed we couldn't make it on Friday but we had another family thing. TJ wanted to see all his little peeps.'

Meredeth laughed, wondered if Robina knew how domestic she sounded. 'So listen, I know we planned to meet for lunch today but I have my nutritionist coming to meet me this morning at home, maybe you could have a quick bite here?'

'Of course. Same time?'

'Sure.'

'Okay, I'll see you at eleven o'clock.' Meredeth hung up and turned her attention back to the dishes, keeping an eye on Tessi as she playing with her colouring books at the table. The girl was a leftie, she noted, watching the way her daughter picked up a crayon in her right hand and immediately passed it to the left before continuing at her task.

She paused to watch her little princess and smiled as she leaned against the counter. It was amazing the patience Tessi had; whenever they went to the park or even outside in the tiny backyard to play with Arturo, she would inevitably find the biggest pile of mud or dirt possible, or especially when they went to Castle's place in the Hamptons, inside of twenty minutes of being on the beach, she would have the warm, pale sand sticking to her arms and legs. Yet indoors, she was as fastidious as a nun about keeping her things neat and tidy, especially her colouring books and her Doctor Seuss books. While most children would have their art supplies spread to hell and back, Tessi would carefully select her colours one at a time and put them back in the box when she finished. Her care for her tools made Meredeth wonder if she would grow up with an interest in visual art as a career path. Maybe she'd be an animator or a graphic-novel illustrator, or a police sketch artist.

Meredeth walked over to study Tessi's work in her _Friends of the Ocean_ colouring book where she was filling in all the mermaids with purple and all the turtles with green. 'That looks beautiful, Tessi.'

'That Dush.'

'That's Crush?'

'Uh-huh. Dush simmin'.'

'Well, that's what turtles do, they swim.'

Tessi smiled, then looked up at the clock by the refrigerator. 'Daddy home?'

'He'll be home later, baby, but guess what? Lili and Duncan are coming to visit.'

'Yea! Dun-an little.' Tessi set her crayon down, reached over to pat Meredeth's tummy, then gave it a little kiss. 'They little.'

'They are.'

'How little?'

Meredeth pursed her lips, then went to the cupboard and got out her jar of kidney beans she used for making three-bean soup. She unscrewed the cap and put two of the dried vegetables on the table. 'That's how big they are right now.'

'That no' big.'

'I know. That's why they have to stay inside Mami until Hallowe'en when they're ready to come out.'

'You tay in,' Tessi said to the belly. 'I big sis, you lissen me.'

Meredeth cocked her head to the side, as if listening. 'They say okay, Tessi, we'll stay in here until we're big enough.'

There was a knock on the door and Arturo scrambled up from his big bed under the window to bellow at the intruder to his Chelsea castle. On the other side was Nicole Phillips, now Nicole Phillips-Zuberi, Meredeth's nutritionist whom she'd met with when she'd had weight gain concerns with her first pregnancy. Meredeth ordered the large dog back as Nicole made her way inside.

'I bet no-one tries to get in this house with him around, huh?'

'He's very loud and protective,' she said, by way of an apology. 'But once you get to know him like the family does, he's a big baby.'

'Aah-tie, no bock!' Tessi hollered from the kitchen.

'And that would be the other animal in our little zoo. Tessi, this is Nicole Phillips-Zuberi,' she introduced the nutritionist. 'Nicole this is my little girl Tessi.'

'Hi-hi,' Tessi waved and offered the woman a bright smile. 'Pidy hair.'

'Oh, thank you.' Nicole brushed her palm over her wild red curls that sprang out like snakes in a whoopee-can from her head. 'You have pretty hair too.'

Tessi mirrored the gesture and patted her temple above her right ear. 'Gassy.'

'Tessi, honey, why don't you take your toys into the living room while Mami has a talk with Nicole?'

'O-day.'

The toddler scooped up her box of crayons and book and wandered into the living room; Meredeth could hear her give Arturo instructions to move over before she heard the sound of rustling pages and the crayon box being opened again. With Tessi settled and content Meredeth switched on the kettle to boil water. 'Would like some tea?'

'Oh sure.' Nicole set her bag down, began pulling out Meredeth's file along with some books and other literature. 'Tessi's getting big.'

'She'll be two on April tenth.'

'Wow. And now she gets to be a big sister as well.'

'Yeah.'

'Nervous?'

Meredeth nodded. 'I'm so in love with the idea of two babies, I really am, but I'm a little freaked out.'

'Don't worry, it's perfectly fine to feel that way. I've worked with plenty of mothers having twins, some even on their first time having babies. The important thing is to remember to eat well because that's the way you're going to benefit your babies the most. Right now, they're part of you and they want to suck up all those yummy nutrients.' Nicole lifted the lid on her laptop, slipped on her reading glasses. 'I had a chance to consult with Harvey on your charts and saw he's prescribed you Amalgam prenatal vitamins?'

'Yep, with the extra DHA supplement in them.'

'I'm also going to write you a recommendation for an iron supplement. Having been through this before, you know the things to avoid, high-mercury fish, alcohol, caffeine, raw eggs, soft-ripened cheeses,' Nicole continued. 'Now, the biggest concern for you carrying twins is getting enough protein and fiber, since you're building two little people and your digestion is slower since your body sucking all the nutrients out not only for yourself but for them as well and that slower digestion can make for constipation. Lots of whole grains and green leafy vegetables, and I'm going to recommend you pick up some protein powder, one of the kinds off this list.'

She passed Meredeth a double-sided glossy brochure. 'You can get them at the drug-store. Don't get the health-food store kind, those aren't FDA regulated so they can be a little on the sketchy side. I know you are a smoothies and shakes kind of person, so one serving of that protein powder added to them is going to give you the extra boost you need.'

'What about weight gain?' Meredeth asked, pouring hot water into the tea pot and stirring in a little honey. 'What am I looking at to be healthy for all three of us?'

'Your starting weight before the pregnancy was one-sixty five, so we're looking at a solid twenty to twenty-five this time for sure, maybe even thirty.'

'Thirty?'

'It's the average recommendation when you're having twins. But you've got a lot in your favour, Meredeth. You've already had a baby so the body has an idea of what to expect, there's no sign of heart disease or high blood pressure to worry about and you're very diligent about your diet. Thank you,' she added when Meredeth brought over her tea. 'Eating for two is a bigger adjustment than it is from two to three, and trust me, over the next few weeks, you're going to notice your appetite sky-rocket. Don't be anal-retentive about your diet, it's like any other pregnancy diet. A burger or pizza or ice cream here and there is okay, but as a steady diet it spells trouble.'

'Aah-tie, no! No!'

'Excuse me.'

Meredeth rushed into the living room to see Tessi standing with her hands on her hips and staring down the dog, who was scratching at the floor by the corner of the couch. 'It's okay Tessi, Artie, knock it off!'

The sharp sound of his mistress' voice had the mixed-breed backing up a few steps and Meredeth ran her hand around the edge of the sofa to come up with Arturo's bone, which he promptly nipped out of her hand and plonked himself in front of the fireplace, gnawing away on his toy. Over her shoulder, Meredeth glanced at Tessi who was still scowling at her puppy. 'He just wanted his toy and he can't speak like you to tell us his bone is under the couch.'

'Oh.'

'You still drawing or you want to play blocks?'

'Day-ons.'

'Okay. I'm not going to be much longer, then maybe we'll watch 'toons together.'

'Yea!'

Tessi knelt at the table again, casting a watchful eye over Arturo as he chomped away; crisis averted Meredeth went back into the kitchen to see Nicole smiling.

'Quite the bossy little boot, isn't she?'

'She likes to think she's in charge of the dog. He sleeps in her room now, on the floor beside her bed, has from the first night we brought her home from the hospital. It'll be interesting to see if he goes in with the new babies or stays with her.'

'Well, my husband's dog is a border-collie and that thing rain or shine sleeps on the floor beside his side of the bed, even when he's not in bed. They have their taste just like humans. Now, as far as this business is concerned, you've still got the Mommy Muncher software and recipe book from the first time?'

'Yes.'

'That is going to be your best friend. Use it for planning your meals and what your make. It's specifically geared for pregnant women, so you can't go wrong.'

When Nicole was finished dispensing her advice and left over an hour later, Meredeth was ready for a little lie-down before Robina showed up, but she had a call to make first. Still in the kitchen and looking through the cupboards, she dialed her husband's cell and was happy to hear his voice when he picked up on the fourth ring.

'Hey babe, how was your meeting with Nicole?'

'Good, I'm very glad Lili is coming to do some groceries with me this afternoon.'

'What's up?'

'I...just wanted to hear your voice after all that talk about nutrients this and precautionary that with Nicole. She's very good at her job but she tends to leave you feeling like a cyclone just came through the room. What are you working on?'

'Ryan and I are at the dead-house about to meet with Shane Weaver on our DB from yesterday for some inconsistencies that were found between apparent and actual cause of death.'

'Sexy.'

Esposito laughed. 'Only you Mere. I can't really talk right now, Shane's squeezing us in, we've only got ten minutes. I'll call you when I'm on my way home, anything you need?'

'Yeah, can you get me a one pound jar of vanilla whey protein powder? Nicole said that it's a great way to get the added nutrients I need within my regular caloric intake.'

'Just vanilla or other flavours as well?'

'Chocolate and some kind of citrus or tropical fruit, also in one pound.'

'You got it. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Esposito hung up his cell, and didn't even have to look at Ryan to know he was grinning like a teasing fool. 'Spit it out, bro.'

'No, I just always think it's so cute to see you get all squishy over your lady.'

'My lady is carrying two of my babies,' he reminded his partner as he shoved open the doors to the autopsy room Shane Weaver worked out of. 'I'm allowed to be squishy.'

'Is that the word of the day?' Weaver looked up from where he was wrist deep in a chest cavity. 'Because it's highly appropriately for your vic here.'

Esposito nodded, tucking away proud daddy and being all cop. 'Give us the run-down, Doc.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	8. Happy Birthday Tessi: 10 Weeks

'Birdie gull! I birdie gull, Mami!'

'Yes you are, princess.'

Meredeth finished pulling the brush through Tessi's dark curls and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. 'You are two years old, can you show me how many that is?'

'One, two!' Tessi held up her fingers, tapped them with her index finger. 'One, two, Mami.'

'Very good!'

The little girl smiled winningly and leaned over, patted Meredeth's tummy which was already starting to bump up though she was only at eleven weeks. 'One, two babies. Wha' kins?'

'We don't know what kinds they are yet, Tessi-boo, they're still too little.'

'Little. 'Tay inside.'

'And they have to stay inside Mami, that's right.' Meredeth gave her one more kiss. 'Let's go find Daddy and see what he's up to.'

'Shocola dake?'

'Yes there will be chocolate cake, my goodness, you are your father's child aren't you?'

They went downstairs to find Esposito in his jeans and pullover in the kitchen, making burgers they would barbecue once their guests arrived. 'Daddy,' Tessi warbled, 'gulls here!'

'Hey there's my princess and my queen!' Esposito glanced up from the bowl of ground turkey and grinned, and Meredeth knew her hormones were going to give her a run for it when she felt her skin tingle at the sight of his smile. 'You want to come and help me?'

'Yea!'

The toddler let go Meredeth's hand and shoved one of the kitchen chairs over to the counter, then clambered up. Esposito took a moment to wash his hands off and rolled up her little sleeves, then showed her how to get her hands into the ground meat and mix it up with the egg and cracker crumbs. Her little nose wrinkled in the same way as her father's and Meredeth felt the heightened tingle from her man's grin shift into gooey mother-love. Before she could start weeping from those damn hormones, she picked up the camera off the kitchen table and began filming.

'Today is April ten and Tessi is two years old today,' she narrated, 'and she is being a very big help to Daddy in the kitchen.'

'Help Daddy. He bedda.'

'Yes, Daddy is getting to be a better chef, isn't he?'

Esposito pretended to give the camera the evil-eye before cracking up. 'Teaching our daughter things like that, that's just mean, Mere.'

'Tessi, remember what happened the last time Daddy made fish and chips?'

'Moke 'larm.'

'That's right he set off the smoke alarm.'

'Mell way bad.'

'Okay, enough from the peanut gallery,' Esposito laughed. 'This is ready for making into burgers. Tessi can you say burger?'

'Bugger.'

'_Bur_-ger. Like brrrr it's cold outside.'

'Brrrr-ger.' Tessi gave a little shudder like she was cold and giggled. 'Brrr-ger.'

'That's it, you got it.'

'Daddy, moosh Mami? Moosh babies?'

'Oh, I think we can manage that, sweetie,' Esposito told her with a wink, and Meredeth walked over to give her husband a little kiss.

'Big moosh.'

'A bigger moosh? Okay, if you insist.'

Esposito laid his lips against his wife's and stayed for a few seconds, the kind of kiss they usually saved for private moments, but today, they gave Tessi what she wanted; the kiss had the little girl clapping her turkey-covered hands together joyfully.

'Yea moosh.' Tessi held up her hands. 'Wash?'

'We'll get you cleaned up.'

Esposito shoved Tessi's chair over to the kitchen sink, helped her wash her hands, then gave her little bottom a pat. 'You get to go into the next room with Mami and play Lego-man now, since it's your birthday.'

'Lego!' Tessi roared with excitement, and was off like a dart while Esposito continued to study Meredeth's face.

'How you feeling today, babe?'

'Good, hungry, tired. It's been great having everyone come around and still leave me time for myself, though truthfully, I really don't like being alone right now.'

'I know. Too much time to worry and think, right?'

'Yeah. And I don't like being that needy, insufficient person, but...I'm going to stop there because I know that look in your eyes, I know what you're going to say. You're going to say that I'm growing two new Espositos inside me, and since I was such a good friend to all of them when they were pregnant, I should let them pay it back to me. How am I doing?'

'That's uncanny.' Eposito gave her another kiss. 'I love you Mere.'

'Love you too, Javi.'

'Mami! Legos!'

Meredeth laughed. 'And to think soon we'll have another two just like that one.'

'Go put your feet up, I'll bring you some tea once the burgers are ready.'

* * *

The afternoon of Tessi's party went as smoothly as such things could go - no less than six families with kids ranging from less than three months to almost five years all crowded into the space of the Chelsea townhouse since it was pouring rain outside. They'd originally wanted barbecue but since that was no longer an option, they did the burgers of various components and hot-dogs on the griddle. Despite Meredeth's hesitation over Esposito doing the majority of the cooking, she reminded herself he wasn't totally incompetent in the kitchen and forced herself to stay in the moment with her friends as the kids played together in the living room and Arturo wandered around looking for scraps he could sneak.

'I can't believe you're actually letting Javier in the kitchen and you don't have Poison Control on stand-by,' Cam teased as he cuddled Duncan close. 'He hypnotize you or what?'

'Nah, I bet he threatened to sing for her instead,' Beckett jibed in a friendly way, keeping an eye on RJ in his baby-seat.

'He only does that when he's way drunk, like you were at my bachelorette party, Katie,' Meredeth replied, propping her feet on the table, unaware that her husband was keeping an eye on her from the doorway of the kitchen. Esposito knew she felt a little like a lazy hostess and had to remind herself that even though she didn't feel it just yet, having two babies meant conserving her energy. He went back into the kitchen, saw Castle and Lili working on the condiments tray while Dave sat with Violet sucking on a bottle in his arms and Ryan was enjoying their company.

'So have you thought about a nursery at all?' Castle grated cheese into a large bowl, watching the way Esposito hovered between babysitting the burgers and babysitting his wife. As he had done the same when Evil Meredith had been pregnant with Alexis, he couldn't really call his friend out on it.

Esposito scratched his neck as he went back to the stove to keep an eye on his cooking meats. 'We're not really sure, we've bounced around a few ideas but we're going to wait until we have the confirmation of what we're having.'

'You're finding out ahead of time?' Lili asked her brother as she sliced tomatoes. 'I thought you and Mere were of the wait-and-see school of thought.'

'We are but we also knew that if we were having twins, we'd find out ahead of time to make preparations easier since twins pregnancies are higher risk.' He didn't add that it would be another project for Meredeth to keep her mind from getting the better of her; he liked being able to sleep in his big cozy bed with his wife at night. 'But we still want the baby shower ahead of time. If we have boys, I'm not bringing either of them home in Tessi's 'Mommy's Little Cupcake' onsie.'

'We were really stuck on one for Mallory, but then, it was also in the middle of moving and trying to plan that kind of thing took a bit of a back-seat.' Ryan sipped his soft drink. 'You going to include Tessi?'

'Tessi?'

'Yeah. You remember what Dell went through when we found out Jenny was pregnant again?'

'Kind of hard to forget.' Esposito recalled quite painfully and vividly how his partner's son had been convinced he was going to be replaced by the new baby because he was diabetic and therefore defective.

'Well, when we included him, we saw the change, he was feeling far more secure about being part of the family, and I know Tessi hasn't experienced anything like that, but maybe it would be good for Meredeth.'

Esposito made a non-committal noise in his throat, then dealt with the burgers that were ready to eat. 'Tomorrow's soon enough to worry about that shit, today is about Constance Tessiana Marie,' he told them in a bright voice.

When Esposito went into the living room to find Meredeth, the others were looking around at each other with concern in their eyes. Finally it was Castle who broke the tension.

'I'm not alone in guessing he's just as scared as Meredeth, am I?'

'Nope,' Lili and Ryan chorused, with the latter adding. 'Meredeth is scared to death the babies won't make it, that she's going to miscarry and he's worrying about her.'

'So how do we help them make sure that doesn't happen?'

'I don't think her worries are as deep as even they think. I've dealt with calls where women are miscarrying and they are pretty much Meredeth's opposite.'

'What do you mean?' Castle asked, eyebrows knitting together.

'Let me deal with this one, first then I'll be back.' Dave set Violet's empty bottle on the table, gave her a couple of hearty pats on the back even as she wiggled around. 'Yeah, yeah, I know Miss Squirmy-Worm, you wanna go see Mama and Carey, don't you?'

'Rarararara,' she giggled. 'Rara?'

'Yeah, we'll go find Rara.' Dave let Violet slide to her feet and she wrapped her hands around his index fingers so she had her daddy's help to walk into the living room and returned a few minutes later. 'The majority of pregnant women I've seen on calls with multiples who miscarried are turtles, you know, they stayed inside and didn't live normally because they were so freaked out. The fact she is living as normally as she can and making the effort shows that she's not letting her fear win.'

'I agree,' Esposito said from the doorway, having heard Dave as he came back in to check on the buns toasting for their burgers and dogs. 'Much as she thinks she's freaking out, I know if she was scared the way she thinks she is, she wouldn't even be getting out of bed.'

'Then what is there for us to do to help?' Ryan asked, and was pleased when he saw the smile on his partner's face reach his eyes.

'Yeah, get out your cameras, we're doing presents in the living room.'

* * *

When all the ice cream and cake had been eaten, and the birthday princess was tucked into bed with her turtle, Meredeth lay in her pjs on the bed Espositon her arm over his midsection and her ear resting against his chest.

'She had a wonderful time today,' she murmured happily. 'Tessi loves opening presents and eating cake.'

'She's going to be lonely in the fall when Dell starts kindergarten,' Esposito said. 'But not for long, because she'll have two new ones to help you with.'

'You think she'll be a big help?'

'I know it. And I'll be taking a few months off again too.'

'Right, I forgot about that.' Meredeth rubbed her palm over her forehead. 'Why am I so forgetful lately?'

'You've got a lot on your mind, babe,'

'I'm trying not to be scared.'

'I know, Mere and I love you even more for facing it down and winning as much as you can.'

'I need to keep doing things to keep my mind off of my worries.'

'Well, then I think I can help with that,' he smiled, slid his hand down to her hip, to roll her on top of him. 'Tell the babies to cover their ears for a little bit, because this might get loud.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	9. Callout: 12 Weeks

'Esposito. Yeah. Okay. I'll see you in a few.'

Kissing Meredeth's naked shoulder and giving her belly a stroke as well, Esposito padded to the ensuite to take a quick leak and brush his teeth before he returned to the bedroom and quickly dressed for the shitty mid-April weather. They were getting hellacious rainstorms all week, and it made Esposito want to whimper a little. Naked in bed and wrapped up so nice and cozily with his wife was a much better place to be than standing over a dead body in a torrential downpour, but he was a sworn servant of the people.

He'd just tugged on pants and boxers and was rooting around for a fresh pullover when Meredeth stirred on their big bed behind him. 'Javi? Baby, you get a call?'

'Yeah, Mere, Ryan's coming to get me in about fifteen.'

'Okay. I already put your snacks into the containers in the fridge and there's an extra bottle of iced tea for Ryan if he wants it.'

'Thanks, babe. Gimme one for good luck.'

He leaned over the bed and brushed his lips over hers, aching to stay in bed with her; he tossed back the covers to see her gorgeous naked baby-growing body and kissed her growing bump twice. 'Love you two in there, no fighting okay? Love you Mere.'

'Love you too Javi,' Meredeth yawned. She was out before he even reached the door of the bedroom.

He nipped into Tessi's room and gave her brow a light kiss, watched her sleep for a few seconds - she was on her stomach, sprawled like a spider monkey and clutching fast to her stuffed turtle Crush. Since going back to work after his daughter was born, Esposito now had a second part to his little good luck charm. He patted Tessi's head three times and murmured, 'Daddy loves you, princess,' before he headed downstairs to finish getting ready.

By the time Ryan picked him up, Esposito was somewhat more awake and seriously irritated by the weather that greeted him when he saw the Crown Vic roll to a stop on the street: nothing but sheets of hard, cold rain. Rain was fine, even welcome some days between June and September, but when it was warmer to swim in the Hudson than get caught without an umbrella, it made for very pissy attitudes.

'Jesus, can't these mopes do murder when it's not flooding?'

'I'm with you, bro,' Ryan agreed, turning his windshield wipers up to full blast as they made their way out of Chelsea and headed south towards the Financial District. 'Also, we have Shane with us as opposed to Perlmutter.'

'How'd you know that ahead of time?'

'Perlmutter's with his family in the Bahamas.' Ryan negotiated the lights at the busy intersection, made his way southeast towards their target building. 'Ten bucks says he comes back looking like a lobster.'

'Meredeth and I decided the first place we're taking our kids on an international trip is Bermuda.'

'Bermuda,' Ryan repeated.

'Yeah, it's gorgeous. It's like the appeal of the tropics but you can still go into town without risk of never coming back.'

'Sounds like it'd be fun. How is Meredeth doing?'

'So far, so good. She had another check-up with Harvey on Friday and he said she looks fantastic, no signs of problems with the twins or anything either of us should be worried about, and it's definitely gone a long way to ease her state of mind. Then again, having your wife as one of her best friends and biggest cheerleaders outside of myself and her doctors is a great help too.'

Ryan nodded. 'That's what Jenny does.'

He pulled the car to a stop and the detectives raced inside to escape the downpour. They badged the uniforms, who pointed them towards the elevators for floor fourteen. Once there, they found themselves walking down a narrow hallways to a large office and both had to find an extra bit of strength not to laugh when they got closer to the body. As Ryan had said, they'd tagged Shane Weaver as their ME and he too had the look of someone fighting their giggle-muscle.

'Doctor Weaver, what's happening?'

'Carson MacNamara, forty-four, of Tudor City, PR consultant for Weston Figg. Wallet was on the desk, untouched and his keys are there too' Shane replied, concentrating on his on-scene notes, 'and he appears to have been caught with his pants down by our killer.'

'You could say that again,' Ryan muttered as they studied their victim. Mister MacNamara had indeed been caught dead doing something, or _someone_ was closer to the truth, as his flag was flying high even in death beneath his very expensive black silk boxers. 'Cause of death?'

'Strangulation.' Shane used his gloved hands to turn the man's head so the detectives could see the two-inch wide angry red strip. 'The CSU's already have the belt that we found around his neck, it was dug in tight to his skin.'

'More than likely a crime of passion,' Esposito reasoned, 'the belt's a weapon of opportunity. Time of death?'

'Between eight and ten last night,' he replied without even looking up. 'I'll run tox and bloodwork as soon as I get him to the lab.'

They let Shane do his medical thing and began to look around the office. Nothing looked disturbed, but they would leave the science analysis for the CSU team and concern themselves with other questions. Esposito wandered over to Officer Tamblyn who was talking to a pale blonde man in faded blue coveralls.

'Sir, were you the one who found the body?'

'Yeah, it was me,' the man said in a thick Bronx accent.

'Mister Canton here is the night-shift caretaker, he came in to water the plants and empty the paper bins when he saw Mister MacNamara lying there in front of his desk, pants around his ankles and his, ah, pride at full salute,' Tamblyn read off his notepad, making Canton roll his eyes.

'I gotta brain there, rookie. Look,' he said, telling Esposito straight face-to-face, 'yeah it's late on a Sunday night, but that don't mean shit around here when you've got clients in all time-zones around the world, you take the meetings when they happen. I've seen people in here at all hours and think, man don't they know there's more to life than working themselves stupid like this?'

'Do you know if Mister MacNamara usually worked his late nights alone?'

'Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depended on where his meetings were. If he needed a translator, he'd work with Kirsten Roarke or Caleb Hutton.'

'What about tonight, you see him before his time of death, maybe with some company?'

Now Canton pokered up. 'He wasn't cheatin' on his missus with a little downtown office tail, if that's what you're thinking. He was a handsome guy, sure but his life centred around providing for his wife and kids. He always had snaps of them and talked about them. You get the vibe when a guy's doing it to show off and when he really loves them, and that guy really loved them.'

'You happen to hear what he was working on tonight?'

'Sure, everyone in the building knows what they've got cookin'. Soft-drink company is launching its first campaign in Australia, everyone in the office is working like madness around the clock. Mister MacNamara there, he was working on the Internet viral advertising and preparing for a conference call with the company's HQ in Melbourne for nine-am their time.'

'And how would you come by this information?'

'When he'd have late nights, I'd bring him up a slice of pizza or two, maybe a fresh coffee and I'd spend my break keeping him company so he had a human pair of ears to sound off on. Even if we didn't chat like old army buddies, I think he just liked having another heartbeat around, like when you're home alone with the dog.'

'And can you verify your whereabouts between eight and ten tonight?'

'Yes I can.' Canton dug into the breast pocket of his cover-alls, pulled out a swipe-key with his face on one side. 'That pass-key is for the elevator, it should have one of those time-print whozits on it. It'll tell yous where I was exactly and if that flunks out, you can check with Chico Jones, head of security for the building, he can tell you where I go even better than me.'

'Thanks sir.' Esposito passed him a card. 'You think of anything else, you gimme a call.'

He nodded at Tamblyn, who sent Canton on his way, then caught up with Ryan who was getting some preliminary data from the CSU people. They spoke in undertones as the OCME people loaded Mister MacNamara onto the gurney for transportation. 'You get anything useful bro?'

'Only that there were no signs of a struggle, the vic loved himself some peanut M&M's from the stash he had in his drawer and he kept only photos of his wife and kids around the office, not his accolades for his work with Weston Figg. You?'

'Caretaker guy says he found him, didn't touch him and called it in when he was making his nightly rounds to floor fourteen. We'll run him against any prints, though given the guy's in there on a daily basis that might shoot the bolt.''

'So we've got a working man, a family man at first blush, dead in his office on a Sunday night with a stupendous sticker between his legs and his pants around his ankles. So why would he be popping the little blue pills, assuming that's how he got that whale-bone, if he's working and not expecting company?'

'Maybe he was rubbing one out for stress relief and the killer surprised him?' Ryan suggested, a little weirded out by the idea a grown man would be poking the bear at work. 'He have any porn in his desk?'

'No, but could be he had a dirty vid on his iPod.'

Ryan blinked at Esposito. 'You know, I'm starting to realize that the teasing we give you about your sex life with Mere doesn't even scratch the surface.'

'Um guys?' Shane, who had overheard their conversation, raised his hand like he was back in school. 'Any chance this might be a suicide?'

'How?'

'Well, some guys, when they whack off will tighten something around their necks to enhance it. Lack of blood to the brain means it can go other places, like the groin.'

'CSU has the belt so we'll leave it to them to get any prints,' Esposito decided. 'Thanks Shane.'

The medical examiner nodded, then headed out to check Mister MacNamara into his guest house - the OCME people always had such polite euphemisms - while the detectives went back to the elevator to go and goose the tapes out of surveillance. 'The more pressing question right now is how are we going to explain to his wife that her husband is dead like this?' Esposito pondered.

'With discretion,' Ryan decided. 'Unless sex plays into it there's no reason for her world to be destroyed that much more.'

'At least we'll be able to rest a little in between telling her and getting on financials and that. Judges won't begin warrant processing on the usual suspects until at least seven so the banks and companies have it at open of business.'

It was, Esposito thought on the ride home after breaking Missus Georgia MacNamara's world into a thousand little pieces, a small reprieve. Informing next of kin was never easy and it was especially hard when it was that call in the middle of the night no one ever hoped to get. He went inside quietly, secured his weapon in its spot by the table before going upstairs and seeing his beautiful, pregnant wife still asleep.

Meredeth had nearly been a next of kin, he thought with a shudder as he slipped out of his clothes and put them on the ugly purple chair where Chewbecca the bear and Guy Fawkes the Fox hung out. When he'd been shot, she'd gotten that call he wasn't okay. It had been, he realized, four years to the day - April twenty-ninth. Wrapping his arm around her growing body, Esposito pulled her close and kissed her neck.

'I love you, Mere.'

In her sleep, Meredeth sighed back, 'Love you too Javi.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	10. Typical Monday

Since Meredeth wasn't sleeping very long these days, it didn't surprise Esposito that both she and Tessi were up to have breakfast with him at six in the morning. Meredeth made chocolate-chip pancakes for them, with fresh juice for herself and Tessi and coffee for him. The fact she was still making him something to eat before work when she was three months pregnant with twins and looking after a two year old reminded him there really was nothing this woman wouldn't do for him or their family.

'Yum-yum, Daddy,' Tessi said when Meredeth set the plate of bite-sized bits of pancake in front of her. 'Yum yum dakes.'

'I know you like your pancakes, princess,' Esposito smiled at her, digging into his own short-stack. 'Mami's are the best.'

'Babies yum-yum too?'

'Yes, the babies are hungry and want pancakes too,' Meredeth agreed. She'd made them with whole wheat flour and added in a little of the chocolate whey powder to give her the extra boost she needed. 'And guess what, tonight we're going out for Chinese food when Daddy's home from work. The babies love Chinese food.'

'Noo-nells and shicken?'

'And lots of veggies.'

Esposito smiled - they were going to the Lotus Room on a recommendation from Ryan; Tessi loved the long thin noodles and Meredeth like it because it meant she could enjoy a nice meal out while still taking care of her diet. He glanced at his watch and swallowed down his food. 'I gotta run, we have to get on Judge Leipner for the warrant before start of business hours so we can knock it down as soon as the banks and phone companies open this morning. Gimme one for good luck.'

Meredeth leaned over and gave him a kiss as he patted her growing stomach. 'Call if you want me and Tessi to meet you or if you're coming here first.'

'You got it. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

'And I love my Princess Tessi,' he added, smacking his lips on Tessi's brow.

'Love Daddy too.'

'Thanks babies.'

Esposito snagged his to-go cup of coffee and was out the door, arriving at Ryan's place in Clinton about ten minutes later; being so early, they avoided much of the traffic. When he met his partner outside his new place - it was slowly becoming less strange to think of it that way - he could only shake his head. Ryan definitely had the look of a new and bedraggled dad.

'Morning, partner,' he said cheerily but cautiously.

'Why are you so fuckin' perky?' was the snarled response as Ryan slumped into his seat and they headed to the precinct. 'Meredeth give you wake-up sex or something?'

'Rough night after you got home, huh?'

Ryan scrubbed a hand over his face. 'When I got home, it was my turn to give Mallory a bottle, and Dell was having nightmares so he refused to go back to sleep and since Mallory was up too, she thinks because Dell's there it's play time so she wasn't going to sleep either. I didn't pass out until almost three and snicker all you want, bro,' he said when Esposito chuckled lightly. 'You're going to have three kids by Christmas, two of whom will be newborns.'

'Fair point, but for now how about we pretend to be cops for a day and get crackin' on MacNamara's financial data?'

'Yes, thank you, anything to take my mind off the fact Dell and Mal are still in bed with Jenn.'

* * *

The bank warrants came through promptly because they were there early before shift and by nine am had enough to get in touch with the credit card companies as well as going back and talking to the people at Weston Figg, more specifically his supervisor Paul Prescott who seemed equal parts devastated by the loss and anxious to avoid any conversation of MacNamara having an office fling or other sordid liaison.

As Esposito set up the murder-board, sipping his coffee, he studied the information they had and tried to think outside the box like Castle. He couldn't help but feeling like something in Canton's version didn't add up. Not that he suspected Canton of lying, since he seemed like a working chump himself, but something, some little Tic-Tac sized comment was just making him grit his teeth as to why he couldn't figure it out.

'Hey.' Ryan hung up his phone, came over to the board to pick up the red marker. 'Shane's report confirms time of death between eight and ten, but he also said that the victim had Tenormin in his system, it's a beta blocker prescribed as an anti-anxiety medication. Now what would a working man with financial security and a happy home life need with anti-anxiety meds?'

'Canton mentioned the big presentation to the Melbourne company, and Prescott confirmed it for us, that would be a huge coup for MacNamara's career to launch an international ad campaign. Maybe he was starting to freak about that?'

'Yeah, could be.' Esposito pointed to the information they'd gleaned from Canton. 'The caretaker said he was preparing for a nine-am press conference in Melbourne right?'

'Sure.'

'So if he's in the office on a Sunday night at eight pm, Melbourne's sixteen hours ahead of us, that would make it Monday at lunch time, give or take a few minutes.'

'Canton didn't know the date specifically...but Prescott did, said they were preparing for it for Wednesday at five-pm Eastern Standard.' Ryan popped up off his desk, tapped the board under the photo of Prescott. 'He said the presentation had been finalized on Friday so what would MacNamara have been doing in his down-town office on a Sunday night?'

'We talked to the wife and she knew about his work on the presentation, and didn't think it was weird when he said he had to work a few hours on Sunday night for it, since he'd been locked in his home office for most of Sunday anyways.' Esposito scratched the back of his neck. 'It's looking less like a sex crime and more like a work related crime.

'We need to access MacNamara's files he was working on Sunday night at the office. I'll call CSU, see where they are.'

They had to wait longer than was realistically patient for either of them, during which time they went back over the interview notes from the office workers and the data from the key-cards; as surveillance was for the whole building and not just the first fourteen floors Weston Figg used in the high-rise which meant that might not even come through until the following morning.

At his desk, Esposito slipped on his reading glasses to examine the tiny-printed data on hard copies. 'Okay, so we've got our boy MacNamara swiping three three times, once at four-twenty-two, the next time six-thirty-nine and one last time at seven-sixteen.'

'We found a ping on his credit card for a charge at Gennaro's Sandwiches in the building across from his office at six-fifty, and a call from his cell to his wife about three minutes before saying he was getting a bite to eat.'

'Right so he comes into work, does his thing for a while, gets hungry and has a sub across the street, comes back at quarter after seven and works until he's strangled with his own belt and it's made to look like a sex crime. What about Canton?'

'He started his shift at seven, and he was up to floor four by the time he took his union-sanctioned break and went to bring his pal MacNamara a cold one only to find him dead. Key cards confirm he swiped up to fourteen outside our kill-zone.'

'What about using the stairwells?' Esposito asked.

'Only stairs in this building are fire-exits. You push the door, you're going to set off an alarm. Which is both good news and bad news, because it means we'll find our mope on tape but first we have to find our mope on tape.'

'Well at this rate, it means I'll get to go home to my family and spend time with Dell and Mal.' Ryan stretched, cracked his neck as his desk phone rang. 'Ryan. Yeah. Great, send it on up. Strike that,' he told Esposito. 'CSU comp-squad has something for us.'

* * *

'Hey baby, long day?'

'It was definitely a Monday, but worth the wait,' Esposito told Meredeth, coming over to the bed to kiss her hello. It was nearly nine and he'd missed putting Tessi to sleep, but he'd checked in on her and gave her a little kiss before he'd gone into the bedroom to see his bride tucked in as well.

'You've eaten?'

'Yeah, Ryan and I had your delicious mulligatawny keeping us company while we burned out brains out with the computer files.' He began to tug off his clothes until he was down to his boxers and flopped over the end of the bed. 'I just wanted to come home to you.'

'Well I've been waiting for you,' she purred, and the sultry tone had Esposito sitting up once more. He knew that tone well and could feel the long hours of the day melting away like sugar in the rain. 'The twins are asleep too, so we have some alone time.'

She crawled over the covers to him and kissed him, deep and sweet to let him know it was about having a little fun after a long day. Her lips were warm against his and she traced the tip of her tongue over his, heard his sigh of delight.

He tumbled her back to the bed, slid one bra strap down, then the other and nipped at her soft skin as he did so. As his mouth formed a trail of hot, lingering kisses up the side of her neck, Esposito's hand flicked open the front-clasp of her bra to reveal her beautiful hormonally-enhanced breasts. Meredeth had always been a well-endowed girl and he loved the way they were shaped with the addition of the babies in her body. His hand slid up to cup one as he kissed her fully and she made a little squeak of delight when his thumb grazed her taut nipple; it was a feature of pregnancy sex he'd forgotten about - with the added hormones, even the most minimal of moves got his beautiful Meredeth very hot for him. Her hips pushed against his, making his body respond and he tugged off his boxers, then her pants so he could how wet she already was just from that one act alone.

He positioned himself carefully, pressed his arousal against her while his mouth ravaged hers and he filled his hands with her breasts, making Meredeth feel like she was on fire. Her husband, the best lover she'd had in her life, always knew just what to touch and where to make her feel like this. When his mouth moved down her body and closed over her breast, she let out a loud moan of satisfaction that had Esposito chuckling.

'Mere,' he hissed with a laugh, 'you're gonna wake Tessi up.'

'Don't care,' she sighed. 'Mami needs her sugar.'

Esposito let out another low chuckle, then shifted his body so that his hand streaked down between her thighs to test her readiness. He slipped one finger inside her, then another, drawing them in and out slowly, all the while keeping her mouth covered with his so he swallowed her pleasured moans. He let his mouth hover a whisper above hers as she began to shudder beneath him and she put her hand to his cheek. The look of pure love on her face for him, and only him, had him murmuring to her.

'Inside. I want to be inside you.'

Meredeth nodded, let her legs fall open a little more for him as he moved between them; because she was so slick already he slipped into her easily, to the hilt making that little 'oh!' escape her lips. She moved against him and in her heightened state, it was impossible to feel anything but ecstasy. Her fingers dug into his back as he moved faster inside her until his hips were pistoning against hers and she could hear his breathing growing ragged as he moaned with her. Finally when she couldn't take anymore, she found the capacity to say those four little words to her husband.

'I love you, Javi.'

'Love you too Mere.'

It was the last thing she heard before she was swept away in a tsunami of sensation.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	11. Break the Cabin Fever

'Mere, where do you keep your fabric softener?'

'I don't use any.'

'What, no Bounce, no Snuggles, nothing?'

Meredeth looked up from her laptop where she was drafting an email to Robina to Lanie's baffled expression. 'Javi's skin gets irritated when I use anything other than Sunlight soap. Found that one out the hard way.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah, I was doing some laundry when we'd just moved in together and some of his boxers were mixed in, and-'

'I think I know where this is going and I'd just as soon not think about Javier Esposito's junk being itchy,' Lanie shuddered. It was Thursday afternoon which meant it was her turn to be on Meredeth watch and she was thrilled to have a little time out of the house. Even if going to Meredeth's meant that Lanie was helping her friend do her laundry and other household chores, it was still some outside her apartment and the kids were thrilled for a Dave-only day.

'Okay, darks are in the wash, whites are in the dryer and towels are ready to be folded.'

'Oh, Tessi loves helping with those.'

'I help.' From her spot on the floor near Arturo playing with her Playskool sea-creatures palace - a birthday present from Carey, fittingly enough - Tessi looked up. 'I big help.'

'You are, princess,' Meredeth smiled, then shifted as she felt a little bit funny in her belly, like her muscles were twitching. 'Come on over here, and help Lanie and Mami.'

'Not Mami, just Lanie,' the doctor corrected sweetly but firmly. 'You know the doctor's orders Mere, take it easy, especially early on while there's a lot of the major developments happening.'

'But-.'

'You are, you're growing two babies, that's enough multitasking on its own. Tessi, show me how you fold the towels.'

The little girl abandoned her toys to boost herself onto the couch and reached in the basket for a wash-cloth, fastidiously put the corners of one side to the other. 'Mash donas.'

'Yep, we match the corners.' Since Lanie spoke toddler, she could make out the garbled words of Tessi's communication. She folded the larger bath wraps while Tessi worked through the face cloths and hand towels until they'd finished. 'Way to go, girl,' she said brightly, holding out her hand for a high five and laughing when Tessi bunched her fingers together to tap Lanie's. 'You're doing that too, huh?'

'Dell teesh.'

'Of course he did,' Meredeth snickered, then sat up a little straighter. 'Okay, the house work is done for the day, now what?'

'Nooze, Mami,' Tessi said on a yawn, and smacking her lips together. 'Noozey-time.'

'I'll take her upstairs, why don't you turn on the kettle for some tea?' Lanie suggested.

Meredeth nodded and Lanie held out her hand to Tessi, who kept an iron grip on it while they walked upstairs. Once in Tessi's room, Lanie smiled as she walked over to her bed and climbed right in, her stuffed turtle in a headlock i her arm.

'Music peas Lanie.' Tessi nodded, pointed to the bureau where there was a small table-top stereo. 'Fansha.'

'Fansha.'

'Fansha ho-sies.'

Lanie repeated the phrase to herself a few times until she realized the disc in the player was the original _Fantasia_ sound track and she wanted the _horsies_ music - Beethoven's Sixth Symphony was apparently popular amongst their tots. She turned it on softly, then tucked the blankets up around Tessi's body.

'Lanie, babies soon?'

'No, not for a little while, honey.'

'Wan' see-um 'gin.'

'Okay, well, you'll see them soon.'

'Noozey,' Tessi mumbled, then closed her eyes as she pulled Crush closer. 'Dush nooze too.'

Within seconds, she was out like a light and Lanie left the door open for Arturo to come in and stand guard over his young mistress. The scent of freshly made tea caught Lanie's nose and she followed it into the kitchen where Meredeth was at the table with a cup of tea and one of her pregnancy books. 'Mere, has Tessi gone with you guys to see the babies with the doctor?'

'Yeah, she came with Javi and I the last time and Harvey showed her how little they are. Why?'

'She was asking to see them again.'

Meredeth nodded, then heaved a tired sigh. 'Lanie, thank you so much for everything, but I swear if I don't get to do something for myself pretty damn soon, I'm going to go a little nuts. I think it's all the rain this week. Usually Tessi, the babies and I would be taking a walk over to the park and I'd let Arturo out on his long leash to get some exercise or we'd walk over to my favourite bagel place a few blocks away and pick up a snack for our workin' man, we'd go shopping or something.'

'I get what you mean.' Lanie stirred milk into her tea, pursed her lips in thought. 'What are you and Javi up to tonight?'

'He's off at six and all three of us are going out for dinner since those plans got kiboshed on Monday. Although...'

'Although what?'

Meredeth scratched her head. 'Right now, I just want to get in the car and drive over to the precinct, pick my man up for dinner and have a night out for just us because God knows with two babies coming those nights are going to be hard to come by soon enough.'

'So do it.'

Meredeth gave her friend the wall-eye. 'What?'

'Do it. Surprise him at work and go have fun.'

'What about Tessi?'

'She can spend a few hours at my place with Carey and Violet. I'm making them grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner, does she like that?'

'Oh yeah, soup is how I've tricked her into eating her veggies.'

'Okay, then go have a lie-down and I'll keep an ear on things here.'

Intrigued at the

* * *

Meredeth stepped off the elevator at the precinct just in time to see Ryan coming out of the coffee room, muttering under his breath.

'Is it so difficult, really, Javier to freakin' wash a cup, I-'

'Kevin?'

Ryan paused his mumbled rant and glanced up, smiling when he saw his partner's wife. 'Hey mama, how are you feeling?'

'Cooped up. I've been stuck in the house with all this weather, so I brought the car to meet Javi. He said you guys will be finished soon?'

'Yeah, I'm waiting to hear on CSU for a test result to the MacNamara case and your man's just got started sweating down his suspect.' Ryan gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. 'You wanna come watch?'

'Sure.'

They went towards Interrogation Three, with Ryan snagging his comfy desk-chair for Meredeth to sit in while she watched. Through the one way glass, she could see her man in his Oxford-shirt and co-ordinating tie, patient as a panther and just as sexy while on the other side of the table, a brittle stick of a man with an splotchy olive complexion and six stitched above his left eye was doing his best to avoid Esposito's stare.

'This is the guy from the case we caught on Sunday night.'

'Mister MacNamara, right, the one you were working on when you came over on Tuesday night.'

'Yeah, and it's a good one, just listen.'

They watched through the glass as Esposito began to work the guy over, staying his usual cool self while the stick-man was sweating bullets.

_I'm telling you the truth, I did not go to the fourteenth floor. Yeah I was in my office, but that's on twelve and I was on a conference call to Bangladesh.  
_

_Really, than why would your keycard say you took a little trip around nine-fifteen, Damien?_

_Could be someone got ahold of my lost one, got into the building.  
_

_You conveniently lost your keycard, interesting and are you often in the habit of losing passes for a secure building, Damien?  
_

_It's the truth! Last week, I was walking through the lobby and this dude bumped into me, sent me face first over the floor, my briefcase looks like a paper bomb went off, everything in it goes flying, including my key card. I needed  
_

'We can verify that from the video surveillance, we pulled the whole week to look for suspicious activity amongst the employees,' Ryan murmured to Meredeth_.  
_

_Damien, you gotta start bein' straight with me. The only other keycard issued to Weston Figg used on Sunday night was yours, so right now, you're looking like a nice rib-eye steak to the dogs at the D.A.'s office. Now, you tell me honest from the start, maybe we can figure it out._

_You think I'd kill Carson? He had my back, I had no reason to twist him up when he went to bat for me._

_What do you mean went to bat for you?_

_I'm the go-between for the manufacturers and the marketing staff, my field is chemical analysis so I can tell those jerkoffs on Fourteen if they can put 'Less fat' or 'Sugar-free' on their labels without risk of breaking the law. I saw there was some discrepancies in the formulas I was getting from Product Testing over at the soft-drink's manufacturing plant and went to Carson, who went to the rest of the big-wigs and said we had to hold off on the presentation to the firm in Melbourne until we had it sorted out._

_When did this happen?_

_Thursday afternoon, around three. My wife had just called and was picking our son up from school  
_

'And now Damien's shifted from suspect to informant,' Meredeth said. 'So who stood to lose the most from waiting on this deal? There's the soft-drink company sure, but a lawsuit over a bad product and the money wasted on its advertising campaign would be far pricier than delaying a product launch. So that leaves the people at Weston Figg who worked on the campaign. Obviously Damien's out since he wouldn't have repaid a guy for being a stand-up by bumping him off, so the others on the campaign had to have gotten wind of it, not to mention the guy in charge. He'd be the most likely suspect now, since allowing false information to go public who fall back on him.'

'Gold star for you, Mere,' Ryan said, impressed.

'Well, I do write mysteries for a living, maybe not traditional ones like Richard Castle but Lady Hawk is a vigilante and crimes are formulaic. It's the window dressing of the people that makes them their own special bloody snowflakes.'

The door to Observation opened and Meredeth smiled warmly when she saw her husband come in. 'Hey baby.'

'Mere!' Esposito gave his wife a warm kiss, thrilled and surprised to see her. 'What are you doing here? Where's Tessi?'

'With Lanie, she offered to babysit for a few hours so we could have a date night.'

'Oh, sweet.' Esposito kissed her again, nodded towards Damien in Interview. 'So what you think of the master at work?'

'Mmm, think we could play Interrogation like that a little later?'

Esposito nodded eagerly, then cleared his throat. 'What do you have Ryan?'

'CSU re-ran the elevator swipe keys and there were two swipes too close together both on Damien's card, so they're checking into it. Meanwhile, we've got the warrant set for tomorrow morning for dipping into Paul Prescott's financial data as well as the financial records for this soft-drink deal at Weston Figg, we'll have both by nine am thanks to Leipner, so there's really nothing more we can do tonight.'

'Until you have the hard data, it's just speculation and makes you look like first-year guessing rookies, right?' Meredeth offered and got another kiss from her hubby.

'You are a quick study. In that case, let's get out of here and we will go have a bite and you can tell me how my babies are feelin' today.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	12. Family Brunch: 13 Weeks

On Tuesday morning, Esposito's first day off in over a week, he awoke to the feel of little hands prodding at his arm. He squinted his eyes open and glancing over his shoulder, saw Tessi there in her pjs smiling at him. In one hand was her beloved stuffed Crush.

'Mo-nin' Daddy, bick-fast time?'

'Almost, princess, just a few more minutes. Daddy was up late last night at work.'

'Datch baddies?'

'Yes, catchin' baddies.'

'Good shob, Daddy.' Tessi leaned over so her temple rested near Esposito's elbow and batted her blue eyes. 'Pan-dakes or oh-me-oh?'

'Oatmeal with fruit.'

'Yummy.'

She clambered over her daddy's legs to get to Meredeth and poked her in the belly. 'Babies, wan' pan-dakes or oh-me-oh?'

'Leave Mami alone, princess.' Esposito sat up and pulled Tessi into his lap as Meredeth continued to sleep. It was the first time she'd slept continuously through the night without getting up to pee or need a drink in the middle of the night and he wasn't about to let a good-intentioned two-year-old interrupt it. Esposito patted Tessi's rump to move her off his lap so he could stand up and walk downstairs to the kitchen with his girl and take Arturo out to the curb. 'It takes a lot of energy to grow two babies inside and she needs all the rest she can get.'

'Babies no' munch?'

'No, not yet. They eat what Mami eats.'

'How?'

'See this?' Esposito lifted his t-shirt, pointed to his belly button. 'What's this?'

'But-ton.'

'Right, it's your button. Well, when you're a baby inside Mami's tummy, it's attached to her so you can get the nutrients out of whatever she's eating.'

'What noo-dee-ents?' Tessi asked, pulling herself onto one of the kitchen chairs and swinging her little legs. 'What dose?'

'Nutrients are the good things in food, like you eat cheese and drink milk for the calcium, and your meat and peanut butter for protein, and broccoli for...well, not quite sure on that one, but it's got good stuff in it.'

He flipped on the coffee pot and set to boiling the kettle for Tessi's oatmeal; like clockwork, Arturo came downstairs and sat staring at the door until Esposito came over and quickly took him outside for his morning leak. When he came back in, the big dog found a spot under the kitchen table and licked Tessi's toes, making her giggle.

'Ah-tie silly puppy, Daddy.'

'He does like feet. What fruit do you want this morning, blackberries or peaches?'

'Pishes, peas. And doos, peas.'

'Milk,' Esposito decided. 'Juice with lunch.'

Tessi wrinkled her nose, then it was forgotten as she sniffed the air while Esposito dumped the packet of instant cereal into the small bowl of hot water and added a small bit of brown sugar. He brought her bowl to the table and after she gave him a little 'gassy, Daddy' - she was even cuter than Meredeth when trying to speak Spanish - then went to making a high protein, high fiber breakfast for Meredeth. He was going to let her sleep as long as possible and given the way she'd barely budged when Tessi was prodding at her, he knew she was right out of it so there was no chance she'd wake up and ruin his nice gesture.

Looking in the fridge he found a little bit of the low-salt turkey bacon she'd started to favour and rather than risk disaster, followed the package's microwave directions to cook it thoroughly. Next came the whole-grain toast with jam, the orange juice with calcium, and the strawberry and spinach salad she'd begun eating as part of her morning breakfast. He put it all on a tray for her and added a glass of her calcium rich orange juice with the citrus whey powder booster.

By the time he was ready with his tray, Tessi was scraping the bottom of her bowl and had plowed through her peaches like a champ; the girl had a healthy appetite, no question.

'All done, na'kin peas.'

'Here you are and good job on your please and thank-yous, Tessi-boo.' Esposito gave her a kiss as he passed her a napkin, then smiled. 'I want you to go upstairs and wait for me outside Mami and Daddy's door, okay?'

'Pises?'

'Yeah, we're giving Mami a surprise.'

Tessi dutifully wiped her mouth and brought her bowl over to the counter, where she shoved it onto the edge, then turned around to glare at Arturo. 'Ah-tie 'tay. No bump Daddy.'

'You are so much like your mother,' Esposito chuckled as Arturo gave them a sigh that clear said 'whatever' while he chomped on his bone under the table and Tessi was up the stairs as quickly as her little legs would take her; she waited as promised outside the closed door.

'Sshh. Mami noozin'.'

'That's right, we'll be quiet. Can you open the door, princess?'

Tessi turned the knob and shoved, tip-toing in the room to the bed where she could see her mother still asleep. With as much stealth as the two-year-old could muster, she climbed in beside Meredeth and rubbed her arms gently.

'Mami, det-up, det-up, bik-fast time.'

'Hummm?' Meredeth breathed deeply, smiled at her daughter. 'Morning, baby, where's Daddy?'

'Right here.' Esposito walked around her side of the bed, set the breakfast tray on her bedside table. 'Time for a bite.'

'It smells delicious.' Hoisting herself into a sitting position while manoeuvring her ever-growing tummy - though she was only thirteen weeks and four days along, because there was two in there she looked about seventeen weeks heavy - Meredeth leaned back against the bank of firm pillows while her amazing husband put the breakfast tray in front of her crossed legs. 'What all do we have, Javi?'

'Turkey bacon, whole-grain toast with that black-currant jam you like, orange juice and strawberry spinach salad.'

'Good foods for babies,' Tessi added. 'They munch wit' but-tons.'

Meredeth laughed as she dipped a slice of bacon in a small puddle of ketchup. 'They munch with buttons?'

'But-tons,' Tessi repeated, tapping her tummy. 'Daddy say.'

'I was explaining how babies inside their mothers get their nutrients,' Esposito relayed to Meredeth, who giggled.

'Ah, Detective you are such a yummy daddy.'

'Munch, Mami, make babies 'tong.' Tessi stuck out a finger, poked the bowl of strawberries and spinach towards her mother, smiling when she dug in. 'Nice and 'tong.'

'Did you get the guy you were after yesterday, babe?'

Esposito nodded. 'You called it right last Thursday, it was Prescott, who was going to let the product go to market anyways, despite the fact that the product wasn't ready for release and when he figured out that Damien and Carson could turn whistle blower, he killed Carson and tried to pin it on Damien.'

'How'd he try to go about it?'

'He paid some guy to pose in a suit and run into Damien to give him those stitches so he could get his key card and make Damien replace it, then used the elevator at the underground parking level to gain entrance without being on the surveillance cams by the front door. But we can tell from the time-stamps what entrance was used and we have the real Damien coming and going on those cams, not to mention his phone and computer logs saying he was where he was to begin with. Bottom line, we got the guy who killed Carson and Prescott's going away for conspiracy to commit murder, amongst other things.'

'What did you...' Meredeth trailed off, setting her fork down and putting her hands to the sides of her belly, then the front and feeling all around. 'Oh. Oh, Javi, they're moving!'

'What? Already?'

She nodded. 'Harvey and Andrea both said that when you have twins, you feel the movements sooner because there isn't as much room in your uterus. They're both awake in there and wriggling around like...like...'

Meredeth trailed off as tears began to leak out and she tried to force them back but to no avail. They were really in there, that little pair of miracles she'd made with her husband. It made it all the more real now. Swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand, she heard Tessi asking in a tremulous voice why her mother was crying and Esposito patiently explaining that sometimes when people are so excited and happy they cry because they just don't have another way to get it out. Tessi seemed satisfied with this answer and a few seconds later Meredeth felt her daughter tapping her shoulder.

'Dissue, Mami, no dears.'

'Oh, thanks princess.'

The little girl gave Meredeth a hug, then rubbed the belly. 'No make Mami dears, babies. I big sis, you lissen me.'

'They say okay, we'll try. Here.' She took Tessi's hand and pressed it near where she'd felt the little flutter. 'You probably can't feel it yet but that's one of your babies right in there. That's where I felt him or her moving around for the first time.'

' 'Till little. 'Tay inside.'

'Yes, they're going to stay inside.'

Tessi nodded sternly, then gave Meredeth a hug. 'No dears, Mami, yea babies.'

'Yea babies is right.' Pleased to see his girls comforting each other and knowing it was a moment when Meredeth had just needed to let it out, Esposito wrapped an arm around Tessi's shoulders while Meredeth pulled it together and she continued to eat her healthy breakfast. 'So it's my day off, how am I going to spend it with my girls?'

'And babies.'

'And babies, Tessi.'

'I was thinking we might start looking at designing the baby's room,' Meredeth suggested, taking a sip of juice. 'We'll need a new bureau and some extra shelving most likely.'

'I'll give Antonio a shout, see what he says,' Esposito replied as he thought of his friend who'd designed no fewer than four nursery sets for their circle of friends. 'What about a crib?'

'That crib is big enough for twins, plus on the off chance that they come before thirty-six or thirty-seven weeks the hospital buddies them up because they're used to it, it's like having a roommate for nine months, right? When we bring them home, that might be a way to make sure they stay healthy,' Meredeth suggested.

'Okay, so we have some furniture that we can use again like the crib, but let's go even more basic, what about a nursery theme? We need to pick out something that is fun and welcoming but can also be a gender appropriate palate.'

'Have you been watching _Queer Eye_ again?'

'Maybe,' Esposito replied with a fidgety wiggle. He'd been busted one time on a slow night with minimal paperwork and no fresh cases by Ryan, who had told him he could no longer hold the Johnny Vong real-estate DVDs over his head. Like any good cop, though, he was very good at steering a conversation where he wanted it to go. 'Tessi, what do you think the babies would like?'

'Durtles! Fishies!'

'But that's in your room, baby,' Meredeth reminded the toddler. 'We want you to have your style and the babies to have their own. What else might they like?'

Tessi screwed up her face in concentration. 'Moons an' 'tars?'

'Moons and stars, like a cosmic kind of theme? That could be pretty, we could put constellations on the walls.' Esposito looked at Meredeth. 'What you think?'

'I think that is an excellent idea.'

'Know if boy and gull?'

'No, we don't know yet, Tessi.'

'When know?' Tessi studied her mother's belly. 'Know soon?'

'Not until after Rosie's birthday, they have to get bigger before we see if they're boy or girls or one of each. In the meantime, I'm going to finish eating my breakfast, so Tessi why don't you go get dressed with Daddy?'

Tessi nodded, and when they were out the door, the littlest Esposito babbling away about turtles being good for the unborn babies, Meredeth rubbed her tummy. 'That's your big sister and she loves you very, very much.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	13. Balancing Act

'Prosecution calls Detective Javier Esposito to the stand, your Honour.'

Esposito cleared his throat, felt his partner slap his shoulder in reassurance. He loathed public speaking, even job related and the only thing that gave him more of a greasy grinding in his stomach than being on the stand in the courtroom was the thought of Meredeth or Tessi in danger. It didn't matter that he knew it was being part of a cop, there was always part of the job that every officer dreaded; for Beckett and Ryan it was the next-of-kin call but for him it was testimony. He was a damn good cop but when he had people staring at him like this, it put the fear of God in him that he might screw up and a perp he'd arrested would go free.

He took three slow breaths on his way to the stand and once sworn in, he took a seat as ADA Ian Link began his questioning.

'State your name and your involvement in this case.'

'Detective Second Grade Javier J. Esposito, I was the arresting officer in this investigation.'

'Summarize for us the initial crime scene, if you would Detective.'

'My partner and I responded on January seventh at two-two-eight Grovner Street in the West Village. The victim, Miss Phoebe Brenner, had been shot three times, twice in the chest and once in the lower abdomen.'

'Were there any other signs of a struggle or other violence in the apartment?'

'No, it appeared that the victim had been asleep in her bed when she was murdered.'

'Objection, speculation,' the defense attorney interjected.'

'Witness is a trained criminal investigator, your Honor,' Ian responded.

Judge Dana Leipner nodded. 'Sustained.'

'There were no signs of a struggle in the victim's bedroom, nor was there evidence of a confrontation elsewhere in the apartment,' Esposito amended his words, reaching for the glass of water on the little table in front of him and cursing himself a little. 'The violence was confined to the three gunshots in the victim, and as there were neither defensive wounds on the victim, visible or otherwise found by Medical Examiner Weaver, nor any evidence from the toxicology reports of a sleeping aid administered, I deduced she was asleep when the defendant shot and killed her.'

'How did you and your partner make the connection between the victim and the defendant?'

Ryan watched his partner on the stand and wondered if anyone else could tell just how much flop sweat was rolling down Javier Esposito's back as he coolly and effectively delivered his testimony as to why Steve Arman would shoot his girlfriend in cold blood. It was a conundrum for sure - the guy was a cop, a hero cop who'd taken a bullet in the line of duty and lived to tell the tale and a yet a room full of people eager to hear the story instead of making him want to brag about what he'd ' done to get the bad'uns made his gut double-clutch.

But that was also part of Esposito's strength when they had to go to court, he was a no-bullshit guy on the stand, not embellishing, not willing to use convuloted terms to explain himself. He did it straight forward, almost straight-edge, so he wouldn't have to be up there any longer than necessary. It was also why Ryan would take the human side of the investigation, as he had that Catholic-schoolboy charm he'd never shed and could now work to his advantage. Between the two of them, crooks and killers always thought of him as the pussycat, the creampuff only to find out he was a 'cookie full of arsenic', as the quote from _Sweet Smell of Success_ went.

Ryan's cell buzzed in his pocket and he checked the incoming text discreetly, saw it was from Meredeth - _Ry-Pie, is Javi on the stand?_ It wasn't unusual at all for her to do so; in fact pretty much the only time she texted was when they were in court so that she wouldn't embarrass either of them since they both had her number under custom ring-tones. He texted back a response_ -_ _yep, killin' it too_ - then refocused before she sent one more message back - _have him call at recess_.

'Upon first questioning the defendant provided an alibi?'

'Yes, he did, however that alibi proved to be fabricated-'

'Objection, again speculation,' the defense lawyer barked.

'Again, your Honour, the man testifying is one of two principle investigators of the murder,' Ian said smoothly.

'Overruled.' Leipner pointed at the defense lawyer. 'Watch your step, counsel.'

'Thank you, your Honour. Continue, Detective.'

'The defendant's alibi was that he was at work at the time of the murder, at the Triple Spades Club in Hell's Kitchen, however no one was able to corroborate seeing him between seven and nine pm on January seventh, nor was his time card punched in or was he seen on the club's exterior cameras.'

'Seems rather paranoid of a club owner to have his front of house wired like that,' Ian said almost facetiously.

Esposito nearly laughed; he knew what the D.A. was up to asking a grapefruit of a question like that. 'The employee entrance is by the loading dock, and to get to the loading dock, you have to pass three security cameras. Not a single one picked Steve Armen up between the hours of the murder. The first time he was seen at work was almost an hour after the coroner's estimated time of death.'

Ryan watched the jury members nod, make notes and had to purse his lips when Esposito knocked the home-run line-drive up the middle - the traffic cams on the intersection by Phoebe Brenner's apartment picked him up going in at seven-thirty-two and leaving at seven fifty-four; fifteen minutes after he'd gone a nine-one-one call was issued from the same building that there was a disturbance in 4D - Phoebe Brenner's residence.

When Esposito stepped down, he didn't loosen his tie until after Ryan had done his thing as well, pointing out that Miss Brenner had begun dating her co-worker Josiah Murphy almost a month after the relationship between her and Steven had ended, and that after a meeting with Steven to return his possessions from her apartment and to request her key back, he became very jealous and began making threats, leaving snide messages at her home phone, even going so far as to email her stills from private home videos they'd made together and remind her of what they had together. He shuddered at the notion of something so personal being sent over the internet, it was why he and Meredeth had never, _ever_ loaded their home movies like that onto either one of their laptops.

Leipner called a sixty-minute recess and the moment they were outside the courtroom, Esposito checked his cellphone, saw that Meredeth had texted him and Ryan simultaneously so he called her back.

'Hey, baby, how are you feeling?'

'Big. Anyways, I just wanted to call and let you know that Harvey is going to see us on the nineteenth, a couple of hours before we go to Castle's in the Hamptons, instead of the Tuesday afterwards.'

'Okay, what are you and my princess up to right now?'

'Baking with Beckett at the loft in SoHo. Or rather she's baking and I'm instructing.'

'Good, don't want my little eggs turning into omelettes. I have to run, I love you all very much.'

'We all love you very much too.' Meredeth tapped her phone against her hand, smiled when she saw Tessi making faces at RJ in his baby chair. 'Tessi what are you doing, young lady?'

'Makin' RJ laugh, Mami, he thinks I silly.'

'I do too some days.'

'He talkin, Datie?' Tessi asked as Beckett took a tray of Meredeth's nutri-cookies from the oven. 'He talkin'?'

'No he isn't talking yet, sweetheart. But you know what, he's figured out how to roll over from his back to his tummy and over again.'

'Aah-tie do that too.' The little girl sniffed at the cookies. 'I tas' one?'

'Not yet, they're very hot and you'll burn your mouth.'

Shrugging off this answer, Tessi went back to making faces are RJ and getting him giggling while the cop and the writer chatted in the kitchen; the other writer of the house was locked in his office with his research notes and chapter eight of the next Nikki Heat book. Since it was Beckett's 'day' with Meredeth, she'd come over to help with some laundry and handling Arturo while they all went on a walk - the first time they could do so in almost a month without risk of being caught in a downpour - then over to the SoHo loft for Beckett and Meredeth to do some baking for the boys while Tessi kept RJ occupied at the kitchen table.

'So when do you get to find out what you're having?'

'Oh, not until the end of July, Katie,' Meredeth told her, sipping her iced tea. 'The real scary part comes right around your birthday, the amniocentesis.'

'I thought those were only done if there's a specific health concern with the mother?'

'Normally yes, but even with me taking such good care, I'm still in the high risk category because they are twins. Now certain things are less likely, such as twin-to-twin transfusion and stuff like that because they are fraternal twins so they have their own growth sacs, but they still have a higher risk factor than a singleton so we're covering all the bases.'

'And how are you feeling, you know, overall.'

'Far less freaked out than I was before. I'm taking it one day at a time. Of course, having amazing friends helps,' she added with a wink, then looked at the consistency of the butter and sugar Beckett was creaming together. 'That's good enough, Kate, you don't want to overwork it or the cookies won't taste right, they'll be really grainy.'

'Now what?'

'Add the eggs, but fork-beat them first before you add them in, better consistency.'

'Okay, you're the master. Are you this patient teaching Javier?'

'Yeah, but he being who he is gets a tad impatient.'

There was a knock on the door which had Beckett furrowing her brow. 'Rick, were you expecting anyone?'

'No,' was the response from behind the office door.

Drying off her hands, Beckett went to answer it and grinned widely when she saw who it was. 'Hey Mere, you have a delivery.'

Meredeth glanced over her shoulder, then shoved herself out of her chair when she saw her husband at the door with a couple of bags of food. 'Javi! Hey, baby, what are you doing here, I thought you were in court all morning?'

'I'm on a recess that ends in about twenty minutes, so I had just enough time to zip over to The Hedburg Club and get my babies some lunch.' Esposito walked over to the island and could have wept shamelessly when he smelled Meredeth's cookies being in the oven. He began pulling out containers from the grocery bags. 'Okay, we have rotisserie chicken, southern fried haddock, oven-baked potato chips with ranch dressing for dipping, salad, mixed fruit, whole wheat Kaiser rolls, real butter and three kinds of babies-friendly cheese.'

Tessi glanced up from her spot at the kitchen table with RJ, leaped off her chair. 'Daddy! You domin' home now?' she asked him when he crouched into a hug to catch her as she raced towards him. 'All done?'

'No, I have to go back to work, but I'll be home in time for the movies tonight.'

'Wit' popporn an' budder?'

'You know it.'

Tessi gave her daddy a great big kiss and hug and patted his shoulder. 'I wash Mami, she be-havin'.'

'Thank you my little watchman,' Meredeth laughed as Esposito straightened up and gave her a kiss, which elicited a little 'awww' from their daughter. 'We're feeling very good today, we did a little laundry with Kate this morning then we came here to do some baking, and this afternoon, Beckett said we get to be guinea pigs for the next Nikki Heat video game.'

'Sweet. Wish I could stay.' Esposito gave his wife another kiss. 'Take your vitamins and take care of my babies. I love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	14. Close Call: 14 Weeks

Since Esposito was only on-call on Saturday night, he decided it would be a great time to break out his mad barbecuing skills and invite a few of their friends over as his way of saying thank you for being so wonderful to him, Meredeth and Tessi. Since he knew that Meredeth would have an unadulterated shit-fit if she didn't participate in the food, he helped her set up a condiments prep station at the table.

'Javi, I don't think cutting tomatoes and onions is anything major to worry about,' she told him while she diced onions and he counted turkey and beef burgers along with hot-dogs and pieces of chicken. 'I'm on my feet when I'm in the shower.'

'Yes, but now you have the option to sit down which you are going to take. Humour the anxious daddy,' he told her when she went to protest again. 'Even if I'm driving you crazy, it makes me a little saner.'

'Fair enough. Who all is coming tonight?'

'Just the Parrish-Robbinses and the Ryans. Castle and Beckett are going to the theatre to see Martha in that play she's doing so RJ is with Poppy Jim, Lili and Cam are doing something at Lili's church, and the Mazzaras are on vacation in Myrtle Beach.'

'I see well...oh.' Meredeth set down her knife as she felt something against the side of her belly. She let out a little gasp and smiled. 'They're moving!'

'What?'

'Javi, the babies, I can feel them moving around in there already!' Meredeth pressed her palms to the bump as Esposito came over, knelt in front of her to see for himself. She took his hand, pressed it to the spot near her belly button. 'Right...there, you feel it?'

'Damn right I did. Oh, Mere, that's so beautiful!' He laughed as he felt the nudge again, then gave her a confused look. 'Mere, I only feel one in there, is that okay?'

'Yes. Harvey said we'll feel the top twin move earlier like this and the bottom twin will move around the same time a singleton baby would. It's because there's less room inside me with two babies.'

'Okay. Tessi.' Esposito motioned to his daughter. 'Come here, one of the babies is starting to move around inside Mami!'

'Baby dermy-fishy?' Tessi asked on a little giggle.

'Yes, this twin is a squirmy fishy. Here.'

He took Tessi's hand on his and pressed it against Meredeth's abdomen, watched the little girl's eyes go round with excitement.

'Daddy, it's movin'!'

'And trust me, that's a very good thing, Tessi.'

'When I 'tart moving?'

Esposito glanced up at Meredeth with a little lick of panic in his eyes. 'It was late at night and I'd just given Mami a very big moosh,' he said with a heavy edit; no need to tell a two-year-old they'd just finished banging each other's brains out. 'And you started squirming around and never ever stopped.'

'Okay, you two, the babies are going to be moving lots until Hallowe'en, but we have people arriving here in less than ten minutes so I'm going to get these onions and tomatoes and cheese and pickles done,' Meredeth laughed. 'Tessi, are you still drawing here, princess?'

'yes, Mami. Look, I make.' Tessi held up a drawing. 'Fo' you an' babies.'

Meredeth took the paper her daughter offered her and smiled. The little girl had drawn five faces: one dark brown, another pinky-peach, a third one light coffee, and two little ones in bright purple. 'It's gorgeous, Tessi-boo.'

'Ou' fami.'

'That is our family, only why are the babies purple?'

'Don' know if boy or gull.'

'Ah, I see, and purple is the universal 'anything goes' colour,' Esposito reasoned, then glanced up when Arturo raced to the window. 'I have a feeling your boyfriend's here, Tessi.'

'I no have a boy-fin.' Tessi shook her head at her mother while the man of the house answered the knock. 'Daddy silly.'

But it turned out Esposito was right, for it was Ryan, Honey-Milk and Dell who'd arrived; the little boy was barely out of his sneakers before he was in the kitchen and giving Tessi hugs.

'Hi Tessi, what are you and Meredeth doing?'

'Daw-in.'

'May I join in?'

Tessi nodded, shoved her paper and crayons into the middle of the table where Dell selected a green one and began to doodle some ferocious monster. The children occupied, Honey-Milk came in and gave Meredeth a hug.

'Look at you getting so big already.'

'Jenny, I felt them moving, just now!'

'No!' Honey-Milk did a happy little dance on the spot, then pulled up a chair to feel her friend's belly. 'Oh yeah, there he or she goes! How far are you?'

'Fourteen weeks and a day.'

'Yeah, that's about right, since there's a lot less room in there.'

'When you say a lot less,' Ryan ventured, accepting the cold beer from Esposito, 'how much less are we talking?'

'By the time they're ready to come out, Kev, it'll be like two feet coming out of one shoe.'

'Owie.' Ryan took another sip of beer, then watched as Dell, kept sneaking glances under the table at the belly. 'What's up, big guy?'

'I wanna feel the babies movin' too, but I don't wanna hurt them.'

'You think you'll hurt the babies?' Meredeth asked him, and Dell nodded.

'Mama said tuh-win babies need ex-tuh-ra special care.'

'It o-day, Dell,' Tessi reassured him, and hopped out of her chair. 'Look. I toosh all time.'

She patted her hands around Meredeth's belly, making Dell feel a little more at ease and he joined his friend in front of Meredeth. 'Dell, toosh belly,' Tessi encouraged him. 'Babies dermin'.'

'They are suh-quirming,' Dell laughed when he felt the movement under his hands. 'It's dif-fer-ent than Mama and Mallory.'

Esposito reached in his pocket for his camera which he took everywhere with him now and snagged a few pictures as Meredeth laughed while the kids treated her belly like a good-luck charm they were rubbing. 'Okay guys, that's enough, back to the crayons.'

There was another knock on the door and this time when the announcement of the babies moving was made to Lanie, Dave and Carey while Violet napped in her carrier, it was little Carey who came over and put his hands on Meredeth's belly. He moved them around until he smiled at the feel of it nudging under the skin.

'I feel one,' he told her, 'you sure there is two?'

'Yes, I'm sure, but one is tucked in for right now.'

'Oh, okay,' Carey smiled. 'When we eatin'?'

* * *

After dinner, which had been delicious and filling Meredeth politely excused herself to go rest, which no one objected to, and she took her leave while Esposito stayed downstairs with Tessi and the others. He felt a little guilty about it, but knew Meredeth probably wanted a little quiet time after the loud and noisy dinner they'd all enjoyed where she'd eaten and laughed her cute pregnant fanny off.

'I have to say, Javi, you're a lot calmer than I thought you'd be about the whole twins thing,' Honey-Milk commented, then poked her hubby in the ribs. 'You would needa straight jacket before I got to four months if I was having two babies at once.'

'And on that happy note, I'm going to use the bathroom,' Ryan said, heading upstairs.

Esposito shook his head. 'What about you Dave, you deal a lot with twins?'

'I've seen my share, though nine times out of ten, it's the same as other women going into labour early. I don't think I've ever had to handle a twin miscarriage,' he told his friend.

'What about premature labour, have you-'

'Javi!'

The yell came from upstairs and in an instant, Esposito's gut went to ice. He leaped up from the couch, taking the stairs two at a time, he went into the bedroom to see Ryan sitting on the bed beside Meredeth who was lying on her side with her arm over her belly and trying to curl into a ball. Ryan was holding her hand and trying to soothe her but to no good result; he stood up when he saw Esposito there and moved instantly out of the way so Esposito could sit beside his wife.

'Javi, something doesn't feel right,' she whispered, trying to keep the sob out of her voice. 'I don't know, it just-ow!'

'Okay, okay, Meredeth, everything's going to be fine, my love,' Esposito crooned at her in a soft voice that belied how terrified he was. 'Kevin, go downstairs, get Dave and his medical bag up here now.'

Ryan double timed it out of the room while Esposito stayed with Meredeth, murmuring to her softly as she began to weep, her shoulders shaking from it.

'Javi, I...I...'

'Shh, shh, don't talk right now, we're going to wait for Dave.'

Sure enough, Dave opened the bedroom door, flipping on the overhead light, and was all business as he got out his stethoscope and a set of latex gloves. 'How long have you been having pains, Meredeth?'

'About forty minutes or so, it's like a band squeezing every fifteen minutes.'

'Okay, Javi take down her pants and her underwear.'

Not questioning it since Dave was in full paramedic mode, Javi tugged off Meredeth's jeans and panties and Dave gave her a quick pelvic exam. Esposito could see his friend's fingers when he drew them away and saw they weren't bloody at all but coated in a sticky clear fluid. He balled the used gloves into each other and laid his stethoscope over Meredeth's belly, moved it around as he told her to keep breathing. When he'd finished, he patted her shoulder, let the bus of his scope rest on his neck. 'Okay, Meredeth, calm down, three big deep breaths in and out. Good,' he said as she did so, her iron grip on her husband's hands never wavering. 'You're not in labour and you're not having a miscarriage.'

'Oh thank God.'

'It's Braxton-Hicks, Mere.'

'What?' Baffled, Meredeth focused clear eyes on Dave. 'What?'

'It's Braxton-Hicks, Mere,' he repeated. 'You're fully intact, you're not dilated at all and there's no blood. You're carrying twins so the discomfort you're feeling is far more magnified since there's less room inside your body for the babies to move around. If you want I can take you in, but I can assure you the best thing right now is rest and lots of fluids.'

'No, I trust your professional judgement, Dave.'

'As do I,' Esposito agreed, helping Meredeth redress her lower half. 'I'll bring you up a big glass of iced tea.'

'Apple juice.'

'Okay, apple juice.'

But when Esposito continued to sit with Meredeth, Dave could sense they needed a moment so he quietly slipped out, closing the door behind him. Alone, the stalwart detective watched as his wife's face crumbled and she pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead.

'God, Javi, I'm so sorry-'

'Mere, there is no need for an apology,' Esposito started, then out of nowhere, snapped. He felt a huge wave come over him, like a sudden tsunami as he saw Meredeth's face. He leaned over so his face was pressed into the pillow beneath her head as his shoulders shook lightly. 'Jesus, Mere, I was so scared.'

'It's okay, Javi, I'm okay,' she replied as her own tears fell again. She used her free hand to stroke the back of his neck, keep him close. 'Dave's damn good at what he does and he wouldn't say I'm okay if I wasn't.'

'I know, but...the thought of losing you guys...' Esposito sat up, rubbed his hand over her belly and giving it two kisses tried for a smile. 'These little guys need to stay inside until Hallowe'en. Hear that? No more of this faking freak-out bullshit on Mami and Daddy, it's so uncool.'

He felt the bump of one baby against his hand and smiled, tried to get it together. 'Good, glad we had this conversation.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	15. Tricky Tricky

'What about a spa day?'

'That might be good.'

'Jenny went to a nice one in Jersey, AquaSpa, they have a therapist who specializes in prenatal massage. She absolutely loved it.'

Esposito shoved the barbell out from his chest as Ryan spotted him in the precinct gym. Being that there was hardly anyone in the gym, they could talk about the daddy-stuff without being called out by the chauvinistic types. Then again, since Tucker Lloyd had started his seventeen year stretch up in Sing-Sing for drug-trafficking, the attitude had noticeably changed and many of the guys who'd kept to themselves whenever he'd been around with his little buddies were now feeling a lot more relaxed in their bro-bonding while they sweated their way through chin-lifts and leg squats.

Thus openly talking about his pregnant wife was no longer a taboo subject, for which Esposito was very thankful as he and Ryan could discuss ideas for a just-because-I-love-you gift that would really drive home that point with is very hormonal, very scared Danish angel.

'Spas are good, but I don't want her to feel like I'm shipping her off because I can't handle her, you know?'

'You know, now that you mention it, anytime Jenny went to the spa she was the one who suggested it.'

'So we've ruled out perfume since she's got her nice Fragonard's stuff, chocolate sends the wrong message, clothes she has plenty. What about something boudoir wise?'

'That might work.' Esposito finished his reps, then set the barbell on its rests and sat up. 'You know what I was really thinking?'

'What?'

'I want to help her with the food at home. I know it's her thing, but I think if I were to step it up like that for her...'

'You're thinking of like one of those cooking courses?'

Esposito shook his head. 'No friggin' way, that's a one way ticket to the couch.'

'Why?' Ryan asked, a little confused as to how such a nice gesture could be misconstrued.

'We've been together five years and I've only shown a minimal interest in improving my kitchen skills. If I go out and do a pro cooking course, her reaction would be if I wanted to learn so badly, why wouldn't I ask her to teach me. It would come off an an insult more than anything.'

'That's very true. What else you got?'

* * *

Meredeth drummed her fingers on the floor as she she finished doing one of her mommy-yoga workouts. Harvey had said gently, low-impact activities like that would be a great way for her to keep her fitness up since the usual cardio fitness she preferred was off-limits with twins. Though she'd barely worked up a sweat, Meredeth reminded herself of the terror she'd experienced when she felt the Braxton-Hicks and thought she might be losing her babies and knew whatever frustration she felt would be nothing compared to facing that.

She was impatient for other reasons too, though, she thought with a little smile. Sure enough, shortly before her little scare, she could feel the hormone surges kicking in, not just imaptience but the sheer magnitude of her own libido. Esposito had joked that she would be doubly horny carrying two babies, but now she was suspecting there might be a touch of truth in that statement. That morning, the babies had kicked her awake when he'd been getting ready for work so they'd shared the shower and even the simple act of him massaging soap into her back and shoulders had been a near-orgasmic experience.

Thankfully right now, she had her daughter also needing her attention; Tessi was needing supper soon and Esposito wouldn't be home for another hour or so. Sitting up, she rubbed her belly where she felt the solid knocks from one babies and the subtle bumps from the other. She hadn't anticipated feeling both so soon but it was a comfort to feel them both so that she knew they were both okay inside.

'Yes, my babies, I hear you,' she mumbled to the belly as she went upstairs to Tessi's room where her little girl was waking from her nap. 'There's my princess, hi baby girl.'

'Hi, Mami. I 'noozin.'

'I see that. Where's Crush?'

'Dush right here.' Tessi reached into the folds of her toddler-sized duvet and pulled out the turtle. 'He 'noozing too. How my babies?'

'Your babies are great, they just finished doing exercises while you were having you nap.'

' 'Cises good.'

'That's right, they make us strong and healthy.'

'Babies 'tong and hea-thy.' Tessi stretched her arms upwards, gave a little yawn. 'Babies wan' pizza?'

'Does Tessi want pizza?' Meredeth teased her little girl, tickling her in the ribs and making her shriek so that the dog leaped up from the floor and stuck his face into Meredeth's as if to say, what's the big idea doin' that to my mistress? 'I think she does.'

'Mami! No more!' Breathless, Tessi managed to get out a protest, then poked the belly. 'Babies, you tell Mami be-have.'

'That is an excellent idea.'

Meredeth glanced over and felt her face split into a grin when she saw her husband in the doorway, his gym bag over his shoulder. He looked so fresh and yummy that her hormones threatened to take over entirely and nearly told Tessi to stay in her room for the next twenty minutes. Instead she shoved herself up from the bed and gave him a sexy, slow smile as Tessi raced over to her daddy.

Esposito caught the look on Meredeth's face and felt his blood warm, even with his daughter in his arms. 'Listen, Tessi, think you can be a big girl and watch cartoons downstairs for a little bit while I talk to Mami in private?'

'Uh-huh, I big girl.' Tessi lowered her voice to a stage whisper. 'Babies wan' pizza.'

'Oh do they?'

'Yes, Daddy.'

'We'll see what we can do.' He gave her rump a pat, and once she was on her way downstairs with Arturo scooting ahead, gave Meredeth a hot, open-mouthed kiss. 'I know that look, I've been fantasizing about that look all day.'

'And you're just going to have Tessi watching 'toons downstairs while you bang your wife upstairs?'

'Well I could call my sister over to watch her but that would be rather ridiculous, wouldn't it? Tessi's a good girl, she's not going to get into any trouble.'

'I know.'

'So I am going to put _Finding Nemo_ on for her, and you...' He reached into his gym bag, pulled out a little bag from The Sizzling Stork, 'can put this on for me.'

Titillated by the notion of afternoon sex like this, Meredeth took the little bag from him; five minutes later, when Esposito had situated Tessi with her juice-bottle and Crush with the Pixar movie capturing her full attention, he went back upstairs and closed the bedroom door. He turned to see Meredeth lying on her side in bed in the silky-soft baby-doll he'd gotten her that flattered her breasts and her baby bump. Her hair was loose and falling over her shoulders and the hue of the lingerie matched her eyes almost perfectly.

'God, you are a sight,' he breathed, stripping off his clothes as his body responded when she rose to her knees and slipped one shoulder strap down, then the other. 'I could just eat you up.'

Naked, Esposito knelt on the bed in front of her and taking her face in his hands, kissed her deeply; the move made her moan and Esposito responded in kind at the feel of her lace-covered breasts against his chest. Her head rolled to the side and he feasted on the smooth skin of her neck, nibbling where her pulse jumped and skipped for him. His hands ran over her shoulders, fingertips skimming under the blue lace to find her nipples taut; he tugged down the bodice to fill his touch with those smooth, creamy curves and her gasp was loud when he brushed his thumbs over those heated points, making his own need, his arousal for her grow.

Meredeth's head fell back on her shoulders as sensation took over. She shifted her legs apart in invitation to him, but owing the the bump in the way, sank down so her heels rested against her bottom and she shifted back against the pillows on their bed with him hovering over her. 'Javi,' she murmured, 'I love you.'

'I love you, Mere.' Esposito stroked his hand over the bump where their babies grew, down her thigh and back up to her centre. He let his fingers rest against her, knew that was where she wanted them from that impatient wriggle of her hips, but he knew he wanted to give her as much as possible since they didn't have as much time...for now. Lowering his mouth to her breast, he suckled and tasted, making her sighs grow deeper, loud, then without warning he slipped two fingers inside her and smiled against her heavenly skin when she let out a sharp cry of pleasure for him.

Her head was spinning as he stroked her, every nerve ending in her being awakened and ready for him. 'Oh, Javi, right there, right there, baby,' she moaned for him, her fingers tracing indescribable patterns over the back of his head, switching hands as he moved across to her other breast. When his tongue flicked over her nipple, she sighed his name loudly as she felt the orgasm sweep through her system. As she floated on its after shock, she felt her husband's hand slip from between her her thighs to her hip and began to gently nudge her so she was kneeling once more. She closed her hands over the edge of the headboard for balance; the angle was perfect for Esposito - with a little manoeuvre, he slipped into her from behind, buried deep as he inhaled the scent of her hair as she let out that little 'oh!' in a breathy gasp.

He stroked her gently at first, keeping his hands on her hips to keep the rhythm tortuously slow so her cries were bright until he felt the shift deep in his chest, then lifted one to cover hers on the headboard. As she began to tell him breathlessly that she was coming, Esposito softly tugged her hair so her head tipped back and he covered her mouth with his, staying there as she came again and this time he went with her.

Chest heaving from good, passionate lovemaking, Meredeth's free hand slid limply from the headboard and she sighed in deep satisfaction.

'Welcome home, Javi,' she murmured with a low laugh that he returned.

'You are amazing, Mere,' he replied, giving her a light hug around the belly; his laugh grew richer. 'I don't think we're the only ones who had a good time, either.'

'You're telling me.'

He took their joined hands and rubbed them over the belly, where they could feel both babies alive and kicking. 'Yeah, I know it's fun, isn't it? And you'll find out when you have your own versions of Mami.'

'Or Daddy,' Meredeth added, then twisted around so she could give her husband a sweet, loving kiss. 'I love you.'

'I love you too, so much Mere.'

'That is exactly what I've been needing all day.'

'Even after twice last night?'

She shrugged. 'Mama needs her PR sugar, baby.'

'And our little Dan-o-Rican princess wants pizza for dinner, you cool with that?'

'Yeah, there's dough mix in the cupboards, just add water and let sit for an hour.'

'Perfect. Why don't you get a nice hot shower so I can have some time with just me and Tessi.' Esposito kissed the tip of her nose.

He watched her shimmy out of her lingerie that had never made it off her body in their vivacious coupling, then dragged on his clothes to head downstairs to find his daughter where he expected to - curled up on the couch, fascinated by _Finding Nemo_ while Arturo laid beside her on the floor.

'Hey princess, did I miss much?' Esposito asked, picking her up and cuddling her in his lap.

'No-no, Daddy, we meet oushie-fishies.'

He studied the screen, saw she meant the sharks Bruce, Anchor and Chum, and nodded. 'So, I had a little talk with Mami and she says the babies definitely want pizza.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	16. Holiday Kick Off: 16 Weeks

On the Friday morning of the May long weekend, the Esposito family went for a check-up to Harvey's office across the street from the hospital - all five of them.

'Mami, we see babies?' Tessi asked, bouncing her stuffed Crush on her knees in the chair beside Esposito.

'Yes, princess, we'll see the babies today.'

'Babies oushie?'

'No, it doesn't hurt the babies.'

Tessi nodded, then babbled softly to Crush while Esposito shook his head. His little girl was such a character, full of chatter one minute, then silent as a statue when she'd had her questions answered. His thoughts were diverted when he heard Meredeth give a gusty sigh, saw her squirm a little on top of the examination table in her thin gown.

'Mere, babe, you okay?'

'Hang on.' She scrunched up her face and let out a monster fart, then sighed happily. 'Now I am.'

'Mami, you loud,' Tessi giggled. 'Loud 'tink.'

'You should hear Daddy when he's had Buela's five bean burritos and plaintains.'

'Lunsh-time soon?'

'Yeah, we'll eat on the drive up to Castle's house,' Esposito reassured her. 'And then when you get there, you and Dell and Carey can play with Artie on the beach.'

'Yea!' Tessi clapped her hands brightly, then smiled winningly at Harvey as he came in with Andrea behind him. 'Ola, Do'tor.'

'Ola to you, Miss Tessi. How are you today?' he asked her, switching on the sonogram machine already in the room.

' I 'cited. See my babies.'

'Well, then let's get you a front row seat.' Andrea pushed Tessi's chair up to the side of the exam table, positioned her so that the parents-to-be and the big-sister-to-be could all see the screen. She picked up the bottle of blue gel and squeezed it, then moved the reading wand over her body. 'Okay, let's have a look.'

Meredeth and Esposito watched the blurry black and white image come on screen, where the distinct outline of a head was visible. 'There's one of them,' he murmured, gripping Meredeth's hand in excitement. 'So beautiful.'

'That is Twin A, he or she is about five-point-eight- inches long and definitely the squirmy one, see how it's kicking?' Harvey pointed to the baby's knees moving up and down. 'The big kicks you feel right now are definitely him or her.'

'That baby?' Tessi asked.

'Yes, Tessi, that is one of the babies. See this part right here?' Harvey pointed to another part of the baby's body. 'That's the baby's heart.'

'I see nose.'

'There's a nose there, too. Now let's move this on over to have a look at the other baby.'

Soon they could see on the screen Twin B and all were entertained when Tessi waved at the image. 'Hi, baby, I big sisser,' she said in her friendly way. 'Where heart?'

'Right here.' Harvey showed her, then took a measurement. 'This one is the porker, he or she is about six-point-one inches long and is a thumbsucker, see?'

'Oh my god, that's so cute!' Meredeth propped herself up on her elbows, saw the baby did indeed have its fist up at its mouth.

'They 'tay inside,' Tessi said to Harvey, who chuckled at the toddler's serious tone.

'They'll be in there for awhile. Andrea, can you take our big sister-to-be to the front desk for the treasure chest?'

'Te-sure shest?'

'Yes, for being such a good girl and a big help today, you get to go pick our a treat with Nurse Andrea.'

'That o-day, Mami, Daddy?' Tessi looked to her parents for reassurance, then went with Andrea when they both nodded, and Esposito could hear her little voice carry down the hall as she asked about 'tickies' - her word for stickers. With the little one taken care of, Harvey printed the sonogram image, then pulled on latex gloves to give Meredeth her standard pelvic exam. 'Any problems with heartburn, gas, nausea?'

'No more than when I had Tessi.'

'Good. Your blood pressure and weight are looking good as well,' Harvey added, noting her information from the nurse's intake notes. 'Sleeping on your side lots?'

'Yes, and low salt consumption, high fibre, high protein, light exercise. Trying to be as normal as possible so I don't go out of my mind.'

'Well, your care is showing Meredeth because you are in excellent shape. I wish all my patients were so diligent.'

'So the concern about the possibility of miscarriage,' Esposito ventured, 'has that dropped at all?'

'The risk is still there given the nature of the pregnancy but the external factors that would cause problems have been severely reduced so at the point, there's no reason to put you on bed-rest or any restrictions like that. Remember limit your activity to things like walking, yoga, light swimming and lots of fluids. Are there any concerns you have?'

'Yes, Braxton-Hicks contractions,' Meredeth replied instantly. 'Are they more severe with twins?'

'They may feel like it, because there's less room in your uterus with two babies, but they pose no more harm than if you have a singleton in there. Again, lots of fluids will help keep them at bay. See the nurse at reception to get your next appointment booked and enjoy your long weekend.'

* * *

'Tessi! You made it here!'

Esposito had barely shut off the Nissan's engine when Dell was at the rear passenger window and waving at Tessi. 'Take it easy, there little man, she's just waking up from the car trip.'

'Oh, okay. May I help?'

'Sure, you want to help with Tessi's bags? We're going to the boat house.'

Meredeth unbuckled herself, then hopped out to unbuckle Tessi. She breathed deep the ocean air and the brisk saltiness of its bite. 'Can you smell that, Tessi? That is the smell of summer,' she told her daughter, who was knuckling her eyes awake.

'I 'mell brrr-ger, Mami.'

The updraft of wind lifted the scent of barbecue into Meredeth's nose path and nodded. 'Yeah, I do too, baby. Let's go see if it's lunch-time.'

'Brrr-ger yum-yum.'

The two Lady Espositos walked up to the wide porch of the Hamptons beachfront home and rounding the corner, saw Honey-Milk, Lanie and Dave sitting on the porch keeping Castle company while he manned the barbecue. Honey-Milk had Mallory in her arms in an adorable yellow romper and Lanie had her baby monitor for Violet in hand.

'Castle, please don't do it, it's not funny.'

'I just want to see if he can tell the difference.'

'He hasn't eaten meat in five years, of course he will,' Honey-Milk started, then cut herself off when she saw Meredeth and Tessi had arrived. 'Hey mama! How did everything go with the doctor?'

'Really well, he said we're all looking very healthy and strong and no reason to be worried.' Meredeth sat down beside Honey-Milk, looked at Mallory. She had darker hair than Dell and her eyes were a bluey-green rather than the pure blue like Dell's but there was no mistaking the family relation of all of them. 'Aren't you a little darling,' she cooed, and Mallory blinked, burbling happily.

'That Mush-Mally, Mami,' Tessi said, standing on her tip-toes to see the baby, then wandering over to see Castle. ' 'Duse me, Misser Dassell,' she asked politely, patting his leg to get his attention.

He looked down, saw his friend's baby there looking so adorable it was almost painful. 'Hi there, princess, what can I do ya for?'

'Brrr-ger ready?'

'Almost, sweetheart, they have to be cooked really well so your mama doesn't get sick from raw meat.'

'No sick.' Tessi shook her head, then grinned and giggled when she saw Dell rounding the corner of the house with her daddy. 'Hi Dell!'

The parents all watched as the little girl raced over to her friend and hugged him, then holding hands they went down to join Carey, Rosie, Dave and Lili on the beach where they were playing in the shade of the big beach umbrella. Arturo, who'd traveled up with Beckett, Castle and RJ that morning so he wouldn't suffer waiting in the car while his humans were at the doctor's office, kept an eye on everyone from his spot flaked out near the edge of the shaded circle.

Esposito watched her go and sighed. 'There she goes, off with a boyfriend already,' he teased. 'I think we'll have to get them both counseling for separation anxiety when Dell starts kindergarten in September.'

'Wow.' Lanie tucked her feet up under her bottom on her chair, listening for Violet to wake from her nap. 'He's going to school already?'

'Yep, he's going to Saint Bart's.' Honey-Milk felt her mother's heart crack a little at the idea of her firstborn going to school already. How had he gotten so big so quickly? 'I don't think it's going to be a huge adjustment though, because he's been going to the hospital preschool for the last two and a half years, and God knows he's got great social skills.'

'I can't wait to see those pictures of him in a little Catholic school uniform,' Meredeth added, rubbing her belly where the top twin had kicked her. 'Yeah, yeah, I hear you in there.'

The sliding door slid open and Beckett stepped out with RJ in her arms, looking hilariously precious in his beachwear - little khaki shorts, a Yankees cap and a little shirt that said 'Baby Heat', a gift from Castle's agent Paula. 'Someone wanted to come and join the party.'

'Looking good there, champ, though I don't know if Auntie Merry will want to hold you wearing that hat,' Lanie teased, then stood up when she heard Violet waking through the baby monitor. 'Looks like someone else doesn't want to be left out either.'

She nipped into the house and Beckett took her vacated seat, sitting RJ on her knee. 'He's going to be six months on June second,' she said in an awed voice as she bounced her son lightly on his knee. 'Can you believe that?'

'I can't wait to hear his first word,' Honey-Milk said, adjusting Mallory in her own arms. 'Between you and Castle and Alexis, that kid's going to have a hell of a vocabulary.'

'Oh, and since we have so many little ones now and a very pregnant Meredeth can't go on the boat, we're having a little Mini-Olympics here for everyone,' Castle said over his shoulder as he attended the burgers and hot-dogs. 'Ryan and Cam are inside setting up our boards.'

'And what do I get to do?' Meredeth asked, feeling huge and massively pregnant at the idea of athletic competition; she had a mental flash of the hippos in tutus from _Dance of the Hours_.

'You are the MC, in charge of the medals' table and giving out prizes, taking official photos, that sort of thing.'

'Okay then, I better go see what the Mini-Olympic Committee is up to, then.'

Meredeth went to get up, but the swinging seat rocked back a little and she found herself stuck. 'Javi, a little help, baby?' she asked; he offered his hands, pulled her in for a kiss when she regained her balance.

'There we are my queen.'

'Oh shut up, lover-boy,' she laughed and went inside.

Esposito watched her go, shook his head. 'That's really sweet, Castle, he started, but closed his mouth when he saw the conspiratorial leans of his friends.

'Where did you hide everything?' Beckett hissed at Castle.

'It's all in the cellar, not to worry. Lanie and Dave already said they're going to get it set-up when Meredeth and Tessi go for their pre-dinner nap.'

'Get what set up?' Esposito asked.

'Baby shower stuff,' Honey-Milk chipped in. 'We're having a beach-themed baby shower for her tonight after dinner, and she'll be so caught up in our Mini-Olympics kick-off after lunch she isn't going to have time to even guess.'

'It's a little payback for when she planned the double-whammy shower for me and Jenny,' Beckett explained. 'She's not the only one who can pull off a surprise or two.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	17. Games Day

After lunch, during which Tessi got to try her first cheeseburger and fell in love, the Mini-Olympics did indeed get under way. They'd gotten a great day for it - temperature in the mid-eighties with just enough breeze from the water to make sure no one melted into a puddle of sweat. Ryan and Cam having the head for sports fantasy league organization they did had divide them into three categories - newbies, little kids and big kids - each representing the countries of their families' heritages. They even had an Olympic flag for Meredeth to carry down to the beach and plant in the sand to declare the games 'open'. Since RJ, Violet, Duncan and Mallory were all very little, their activities were mostly confined to water sports with the help of their moms and-or dads. Castle being a fair-minded fellow wanted the babies to have their moment, so each represented country - Italy, Ireland, Scotland and the USA - got a gold medal along with little printed onsies with 'Memorial Day Olympics' on the front and their surname on the back.

They'd just settled the newbies in for their naps when they got an unexpected surprise - Alexis had been able to get an earlier flight after her course was finished and had drove up to the Hamptons with Martha just in time for the little kids to do their thing. Since she had jet-lag beyond comprehension, the pretty twenty-something had no problem putting herself on babies-watch in Lanie and Dave's room, where they'd set up all the bassinets for naptime so they could hear all four on one baby monitor outside. Martha had joined the fun helping Meredeth take pictures and keeping an eye out as an extra referee from under the shade of the giant umbrella. For some, the idea of being on the beach watching the fun with someone as overwhelming as Martha had the potential to be might have been overload but for Meredeth it was as comforting as a warm blanket on a cold night for one very clear reason: spending time with Martha made the ache of knowing that Constance wouldn't see more of her great-grandchildren, twins no less, hurt a hell of a lot less.

Martha, too, had sensed that void in Meredeth's life and had made a point of calling her from time to time just to check in and see how she was. She often called with some excuse, whether it was a restaurant recommendation or seeking Meredeth's advice on settling a cooking debate between her son and his wife but the little phone calls were the kind that Meredeth was used to from her grandmother. Hearing from Martha in the same way made her feel far less upset whenever she had the instinct to call her grandmother and remembered with a jolt she couldn't.

'Meredeth, my dear, you look so beautiful,' the Broadway diva told her as they watched the men ready the sandy beach for the first race by stretching two length of rope out for a start and finish line.

'I feel enormous already and I'm only at four months,' she confessed, keeping a hold on Arturo's green leash so he wouldn't run out and interfere with the playing-humans.

'There's nothing more lovely than a woman carrying children she's made with the love of her life. I'm sure your Javier still gets that look in his eye like you're the Roadrunner and he's Wile E. Coyote.'

'That he does,' Meredeth laughed, then rubbed her belly when she felt the kick near her ribs. 'Yeah, I know you don't like being left out.'

'Do you know what kinds yet?'

'No, we're finding out at the end of July. They need to be big enough so we see it on the sonogram. Oh, I think we're starting!'

'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Little Kids Class of the Memorial Day Olympics! To begin this afternoon festivities, we have The Twenty-Yard Monkey Crawl!' Beckett said grandly, like a barker at a medieval jousting tournament. 'In lane one, representing Scotland, Rosie George-Esposito! Lane two representing Denmark, Tessi Esposito! Lane three from Ireland Dell Ryan! And Lane Four representing Italy Carey Parrish-Robbins! Crawlers, take your marks!'

From the sidelines, Honey-Milk waved the starting flag and the race was underway, and everyone was thankful they all had cameras, both video and still. Though the race was in the little-kids category, in reality it involved all the daddies worming through the sand commando-style while their toddlers rode on their backs like little spider-monkeys. They watched, cheering loudly with the rest of the girls as the four daddies crawled across the sand with their babies clinging to their backs, with Cam well in the lead as Dave and Esposito duked it out for second and third, and Ryan doing his best to keep up. Rosie and Cam won it handily, but made a show of going to Meredeth the referee with her camera to see who'd made it across the line in second and third, with the silver medal going to Tessi and Esposito, Carey and Dave getting the bronze and Ryan and Dell coming in last. Surprisingly, or maybe not so, Dell had no sour grapes about being fourth.

'Daddy, they are little, they have to win sometimes too,' he told Ryan when they'd posed for their commemorative shot. 'It's not fair I should win because I am bigger.'

'That's very gracious of you, Dell,' Esposito commented. 'You ready for the next event?'

'Uh-huh. I think I will win this one, it is a suh-wimmin' one.'

'Simmin'. I good simmer,' Tessi commented, poking Dell's shoulder. 'I good simmer too.'

The next one - the pool-noodle chase - had them venturing into the ocean and the kids in their life-jackets or water-wings, which Tessi did win by a long shot; the girl was a water-nut, no question. While the kids took a small snack-break, the Big Kids had their first race - the Crab-Cake Walk, where they had to crab-walk twenty yards while balancing a water-balloon on their stomachs. Cam, small and speedy, won the men's while Honey-Milk took the women's race with Esposito and Beckett clocking in the silver medal and Castle and Lili taking bronze. Being they were the big kids, they decided to use their balloons for an impromptu water fight, which ended with them all soaked.

Shaking the water out of his eyes, Esposito went over to his bride, who was looking like she was hiding a beach-ball under her maternity swim-tank and gave her a kiss.

'Mm, you're all wet,' she giggled.

Esposito couldn't resist; he leaned in to kiss her by the ear and whispered, 'And later, you will be too.'

'Dirty boy.'

'Daddy, you 'mell sal-ty,' Tessi said, coming over to give Esposito a hug, and squealed with delight when he picked her up and blew a raspberry on her tummy. 'Daddy!'

'Tessi!'

'We gon' win next one too?'

'Let's give it a try.'

* * *

By five, the games had their closing ceremony with 'Scotland' taking the most gold medals and 'Denmark' taking the biggest medal haul in total and 'Ireland' being the MVP of the tournament, and they'd all split off for their own pre-dinner siestas. Meredeth had tucked Tessi in her travel-bed and then flopped cautiously onto the big bed with her husband beside her.

'Can I just say, you are the best hubby ever and I love you so much,' she told him, cuddling against him as much as the belly would allow.

'And you're the best little woman ever and I love you so much too,' he replied, kissing the tip of her nose. 'Which is why I know you won't object when we have Rosie and Duncan stay in here tonight.'

'No, but I am curious as to why we would have them here.'

'We, ah, all kind of agreed to trade off kids for a night this weekend so that one night is just for mommies and daddies, so tomorrow...' Esposito trailed off, gave her a kiss and cupped her breast lightly in his palm. 'You and I get to have our own games night.'

Meredeth gave a sexy, satisfied chuckle, then squinted at him. 'You understand that us looking after Rosie and Duncan for the night means that your sister and her husband want alone time to have sex, right?'

'There are some things in this world I must resign myself to, and the knowledge my baby sister has needs like that is one of them.'

'Oh I cannot wait for the day when Tessi asks you where babies come from, I- please promise you'll put it on video. Oh!' Meredeth gave a little wince at the little pang she felt in her belly from what was definitely an elbow. 'Take it easy, there kiddo,' she told the belly, poking it. 'Mami trying to rest.'

Esposito watched fascinated as her belly jiggled when she poked at it. 'Hey in there, do we have two princes, two princesses or one of each in the Mere-house?'

'Daddy noisy.'

Meredeth glanced over her shoulder and saw Tessi had awoken with her beloved Crush in her hand. She stood up on sleep-wobbly legs and climbed onto the bed, sat near Meredeth's knees. 'I know he's noisy, Tessi-boo, but he's having fun talking to the babies.'

The phone to the boathouse rang and Esposito popped up to take the call. 'Hello.'

'Hey, it's Castle in the main house, we're all set with Meredeth's surprise so bring her and Tessi on over.'

'Okay see you in a few. Time for food, Tessi,' he told his daughter and she cheered, asking the entire way over if there would be more burgers. When they made it to the main house, Meredeth thought it a little odd that the barbecue wasn't going yet, but figured Castle had his reasons for delaying it. Or maybe they weren't having barbecue tonight, maybe it was going-

'Surprise!'

Meredeth stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the crowd of people in the kitchen. It had been transformed with decorations - streamers and balloons and fresh tropical flowers - along with plates of healthy snacks and a banner that read 'Happy Baby Shower Mere & Javi (and Tessi too!)'

'What is all this?' she laughed, clapping her hands together as Lanie and Ryan recorded the reactions. She turned to Esposito and gave him a look. 'Did you do this?'

'Nope, I found out about it when we got here.'

'It was us,' Beckett, Lanie and Honey-Milk chorused, Lanie adding, 'They put together the food and games, I did decorations. Oh, Mere it's okay.'

The petite doctor rushed forward to give Meredeth a hug as she burst into tears. 'I know, darling, those damn hormones just never give you a break do they,' she crooned.

'Thank you so much, you guys, this is gorgeous. I don't know what we'd do without you.'

'Wait, there's more,' Honey-Milk added, looping her arm through Meredeth's and leading her into the living room. There were more balloons and streamers and fresh flowers, along with more snacks and a full bar that had been set up with delicious organic fruit-juices for making baby-friendly cocktails and a large, comfy-looking armchair draped with peach, green, and white streamers beside which was a huge stack of presents. On the other side was a child's sized chair as well which had a little plastic tiara and fauz-satin sash that read 'Big Sister' in shiny green letters.

'Here we are, Tessi, Miss Big Sister to Be.' Beckett knelt in front of the little girl and draped the sash over her shoulders, put the tiara on her head and briefly wondered if the next one she made with Castle would be a little girl to dress up like this. 'There we are princess.'

'Pin-Cess Tessi,' she agreed and sat down on her chair of honour.

'How'd you make sure we were the last ones up here so we wouldn't see any of this arriving?' Esposito asked, sitting down in the armchair beside Meredeth; it was wide enough for two people or three small children.

'I have my resources,' Honey-Milk said with a wink, wondering if they'd guess that she'd put in a call to Andrea to make sure that Meredeth got an appointment on the Friday morning. 'What can I get you to drink?'

'Something fruity and bubbly.'

Honey-Milk nodded as Lanie dragged over what looked like an art easel with several markers in the ledge underneath.

'Okay, the first game is Baby Pictionary,' she said, 'Mommies versus Daddies, who's going first?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	18. Presents For Everyone

'Baby spinach!'

'Baby tomato!'

'Baby asparagus!'

'So close!' Meredeth tried to draw her word as closely as possible, which had the girls going a little berserk as they tried to hold onto their two-point lead over the guys. 'Baby...'

'Baby back ribs!' Lanie yelped, shaking her hands wildly, which had the rest of the bursting into laughter. 'Baby rib tips! Baby bacon!'

'I think someone's getting hungry,' Dave laughed.

Honey-Milk slapped Beckett's knee quickly. 'Oh, oh, oh! Baby corn! It's baby corn!'

'Yes!'

'Dammit!' Ryan groaned. 'Guys, we gotta pick it up.'

'Well, actually, since the boys went first, that was the last hand so we win,' Lanie stood up and went to the bar to give the guys their consolation prize - a box of popcorn seeds inside an old-fashioned striped popcorn box with the silhouette of a pregnant woman, the words 'About to Pop' printed in white on her large tummy. 'And since we're between games, I think it would be a good idea to make dinner.'

'More sheesh-brrr-ger?' Tessi asked hopefully, looking up at Esposito from her spot in his lap.

'No, we're having something else tonight, sweetheart,' Castle told her since he'd been put in charge of the food for the baby shower. 'But I can assure you it's very tasty.'

The people dispersed as necessary and Meredeth went into the kitchen with her husband and friends, drink in hand, where she sat at the island as they began to get dinner ready. 'What can I do to help?'

'Sit there and let us worship you,' Castle replied, pouring potatoes into a colander. 'I know you like to have your hands in the making of dinner, but you're the guest of honour tonight, Meredeth. Let us take care of you.'

'Okay.'

'The same cannot be said, however, for your other half. Rinse, peel,' he said to Esposito, who picked up a paring knife and gave the writer a cocky salute.

'Aye, aye, Captain.'

Meredeth sipped her juice-cocktail, watched Castle direct the troops - Ryan was on vegetables for shish-kebabs, Esposito on the potatoes, himself on meats - then smiled when she saw a beleaguered looking Alexis coming down the stairs into the kitchen. 'There's our international scholar, how you feelin', girl?'

'Upside down, trying to get on Eastern Standard. What time is it?'

'A few minutes before seven. We're just about to make dinner.'

'Oh, sweet, how can I help?'

'You can go outside and get a little fresh air to wake you up so you can be alert for dessert and presents. There's juice for soft-cocktails on the living room bar if you're thirsty.'

'Sounds good.'

'I'll go with her, I am feeling a little snoozy myself and want to make it through tonight without needing a nap.' Meredeth carefully slipped off her chair.

'Hey,' Esposito called to her, and gave her a fat, juicy kiss while he scrubbed and peeled the potatoes. 'Love you, Mere.'

'Love you too, Javi.'

He watched her walk out to the porch with her drink and sighed. It was so good to see her finally relaxed into her pregnancy; he knew that she had spent the last two months trying so hard not to let it show how scared she was that one or neither of the babies would survive. But the updates from Harvey, especially the one they'd received that morning, had eased that pressure little by little until she was her usual happy, light-hearted self once more today.

Turning his attention back to the potatoes, he scrubbed and peeled the bowlful, then passed them to Ryan before drying off his hands and going into the living room to find Tessi watching intensely as Honey-Milk helped Dell give himself his insulin booster. The other little ones were no-where to be found; most likely Carey and Rosie were upstairs with their younger siblings.

'See, Tessi, it's not so bad,' Dell told her in a patient voice as he smeared the little drop of blood on his test strip and put it into his glucose monitor for reading. 'Just a little bite, like a mo-suh-qui-to. Can you say mo-suh-qui-to?'

'Mo-di-to.'

'That is a good tuh-ry, Tessi. Okay, this part might look suh-cary but it's not. See this says four-dot-nine, so I only need a little bit. One-dot-one,' he told Honey-Milk, who adjusted the dose.

'Dell oushie?'

'Only a little bit. See, watch, I won't even cuh-ry.' Dell winced a little as he closed his hand over the end of the insulin-pen his mother guided into his arm and he pressed the end plunger. It was over in three seconds, not even, and he put the lid on the sharp, unscrewed it. 'See Tessi, all done.'

'Dell no oushie.' Tessi leaned over and kissed his shoulder lightly, patted it. 'All bedda.'

'You might be a nurse just like Uncle Cam,' Esposito told his little girl, walking into the living room and scooping her into his arms.

'I paddasin' fo' babies. Kiss da-bobo bedda.'

'It does help,' he agreed, thinking of when he'd been shot and before his surgery; he'd been so doped up and scared, and then he'd scented his Danish angel in the room and before he'd gone to the operating room she'd kissed him and he'd felt the first glimmer of hope and relief since he'd felt the searing pain of the bullet ripping through his flesh. Yes, a kiss was a very powerful healing mechanism. 'And babies love attention like that.'

'Kisses are always nice,' Dell agreed, having stuffed his arm back through his sleeve, and leaning over, pecked Tessi's cheek. His cheeks turned bright pink but he stayed with his mother, who was trying to smother a laugh. 'Mama, may I go wash my hands?'

'Please do, and put your sharps in the plastic bag in your suitcase, because it's time for presents, I think,' she told him, seeing Castle and the others coming in from the kitchen. 'Presents?'

'Yep, dinner's in the oven roasting away so I'm going to go get the rest of our little animal kingdom.'

When they'd all assembled back in the living room, Meredeth was once again tucked into the wide armchair with Esposito beside her and Tessi in her chair beside them as well. She'd put her princess tiara back on and was eying the stack of presents with excitement.

'Daddy, I help Mami?' she asked sweetly.

'Help being the operative word, princess.'

'Well actually, if you look on top, there is one for the big sister-to-be,' Lanie informed them with a knowing smile. 'It's not just about Meredeth and the babies, it's about the whole family welcoming them.'

Meredeth passed her daughter the box wrapped in cute paper with dancing frogs and Tessi shredded into it like the Tasmanian Devil on speed. 'Whatcha got, there Tessi-boo?' she asked, helping her daughter open the plain white box and unfolding the tissue paper.

'Shut,' she said, taking it out. 'What it say?'

'I can read it Tessi,' Dell said proudly and helped her sound out the words. 'It says Tuh-raining Officer, Badge Number 10410. Oh, I get it, because she is the big sis-ter and helping with the babies!'

'I big help, Mama.'

'Why those numbers?' Carey asked, hugging his knees and blinking his multicoloured eyes. 'Why they 'pecial?'

'Because Tessi is the first baby, number one, and her birthday is April tenth, month four, day ten,' Beckett explained. 'Carey, yours would be one-zero-six-zero-seven, and Violet's would be two-zero-eight-zero-six.'

'And mine is...one-zero-five-one-one,' Rosie said, proud of herself. 'May 'leven and I am the biggest.'

'Gassy, eve'y-one,' Tessi told the room at large with her winning smile, then turned back to help Meredeth unwrap her gifts.

Much like when she'd gotten her gifts while she was pregnant with Tessi, Meredeth and Esposito found these gifts were all the highly practical and much appreciated kind they'd begun to think about purchase - an extra table-topper baby-bath from Lili and Cam, a sleep-pac from Honey-Milk and Ryan, a gift basket of assorted goodies like organic baby soap, glass bottles, and _ from Lanie and Dave, and most wonderfully from Beckett and Castle, a double-wide twin stroller from the same company as Tessi's all-stages stroller. And of course there were the 'gifts' from the little ones - an economy box of newborn diapers from Rosie and Duncan and an equally large box of baby wipes from Carey and Violet, assorted solid colour onsies and undershirts from Dell and Mallory, and best of all, a pair of navy blue onsies that read 'Cadet Esposito' across the chest in banana yellow from RJ.

Even Alexis in her fugue state of body-clock adjustment had brought down the gift she'd bought in England - a pair of stuffed bunnies from Harrod's similar to Tessi's Harrod's teddy. The thoughtfulness of the gift, that a fourth-year pre-med university student would remember to pick up a baby present had Meredeth sniffling a little, then laughing when Tessi climbed into her lap and brushed away her tears with her little hands.

'What I say, babies,' she told the belly, poking it lightly. 'Be-have.'

'She's going to be a great big sister,' Lanie commented, threading Dave's fingers through hers. 'But we're not done with presents just yet, there's another few things just for Mami and Daddy.'

'More?' Esposito arched an eyebrow. 'We don't have a bottomless trunk.'

'It's okay, we have room in ours,' Beckett reassured him. 'And besides your gifts are small.'

She was right, Meredeth realized, the gifts were small in physical size but the sentiment in them was huge: the girls had given Meredeth a full day for herself and a guest at AquaSpa to get the righteous mommy pampering with the full works - head-to-toe waxing of whatever she needed or wanted touched up, mani-pedi, facial, massage, even a hairstyling if she was so inclined. Esposito received a copy of Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything', which was considered by a lot of men to be one of the best books to use when dipping into the stock-pots for the first real time. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it but knew that his best friend, his brother, had understood his frustration at not being able to do such a basic, simple task for Meredeth while she was growing two babies and nodded his absolute appreciation for it.

By the time the wrapping paper dust had settled, it was time to eat and Meredeth was definitely ready for a snack. Tonight they were having oven roasted Greek chicken, potatoes and vegetables. Though it was almost June, there was something homey and comforting about the inside grilling. There was also a delicious fruit salad leftover from lunchtime, though how it hadn't been eaten bowl and all was beyond Meredeth's understanding.

She took a place at the kitchen table and wasn't surprised when Lanie and her husband sat down with her.

'I hope you like the sleep-pac,' Dave said, digging into his food with gusto. 'We use them when we have small babies to transport.'

'I feel a little silly asking, but what is it for?'

'Oh, it's to tuck the twins into bed, like swaddling them while they sleep. Twins are almost guaranteed to be early so you want to simulate the feeling of the womb as much as possible in the early stages for good development and the sleep-pacs help those. Plus if you're using only one crib, they are a great space saver.'

'That's fantastic. Why didn't I think of that?' Meredeth frowned, a look which had Lanie pointing at her.

'Hey now, none of that, it's just like going through the first one again because you've got new things to learn with two.'

'Oh Meredeth.' Honey-Milk came over and sat down. 'Remind me I have two wall organizers to give you.'

'Wall organizers?'

'Yeah, we use them for keeping track of the babies at the hospital. You know, like who was fed when, who filled a diaper with what and how often. It might seem a little formal, but the mothers who were most successful at home with twins did this.'

Meredeth smiled, rubbed her belly. 'Hear that, it's not just me and Daddy and Tessi who love you,' she murmured, 'there's a whole flock of them.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	19. Helping Hands and Shoulders: 18 Weeks

'Are you sure, Mami?'

Rosalita shook her head at her son as she watched Tessi pull on her little sandals with determination and fastened the Velcro straps herself. 'You are planning a surprise for your lovely Meredeth on your day off-'

'On-call, Mami, I'm not on duty but I have to be available.'

'Either way, you've got Meredeth and her friend out shopping for the day for a pure girls' day and you want to fix her up a surprise. What are you making, anyways?'

'No idea yet, waiting until Ryan gets here so I can try out the book he gave me.' Esposito scratched the back of his neck. 'I love Meredeth and she does so much for me, even when she thinks she doesn't, so I want to step up my game for her now that she's having twins.'

'My boy, the married man and father of three babies.' Rosalita's face glowed with pride. 'Oh, I cannot wait to see them.'

'All done, Bela!' Tessi wiggled her toes and stood up proudly. 'Ready!'

'Okay, Senorita Tessi you and I are going to pick up _prima_ Rosie and the two of you are going to help me bake today, does that sound like fun?'

'Duckies!'

'She means cookies. Hard c's and k's at the start of words are still a challenge for her,' Esposito laughed off of Rosalita's look. 'Have a good time you two.'

'Love you, Daddy.' Tessi gave her father a kiss on the cheek, then went to her grandmother and held her hand. 'Ready!'

He opened the door to let them out, and wasn't surprised to see Ryan five feet from the base of the stairs with a grocery bag in hand. 'Girls on the go?' he asked when he came inside and was greeted by the barking Arturo. 'Yeah, yeah, you silly beast, you like to make a big stink that I'm here, don't you. You didn't have to send Tessi away, you know.'

'I told my mother what I was up to today and she volunteered, and I know better than to mess with Mami. Drink?'

'Something soft and cold. What all are we making?'

'Dinner, for one, and maybe something in the stockpot that we can freeze and she can take out for a wholesome meal without a lot of effort on her part, because she is getting bigger by the day and pretty soon she is going to have zero energy for anything other than growing our babies. She needs a lot of high-fibre, high protein meals with lots of iron.'

'Is she taking any kind of special vitamins or supplements?' Ryan asked.

'She's on a special blend of prenatal vitamin and an iron supplement, so I'm mainly concerned with making sure she's got the protein and fibre.'

'Well, there's a recipe in there for chilli, which has those things in spades, and we can also make some pasta casseroles to put in the freezer, maybe a couple of jars of salad dressing that can double as dip for snacks. And dinner tonight, what are you feeling?'

'Chicken and potatoes of some kind, and a big spinach salad. Mere like chicken and potatoes and spinach salad.'

Ryan pursed his lips together, then looked around. 'You said Meredeth's got a drafting board, right?'

'Yeah, it's upstairs in her office, hang on.'

Esposito retrieved it, along with a few markers and wasn't surprised when Ryan took one and began to set up what appeared to be a murder-board for a menu. They created a 'time-line' for the cooking process. 'So Meredeth and Beckett are shopping until at least four, right?'

'Yeah, she said they're meeting Castle at Penn Station around then.'

'So we've got about six hours to get things going.' Ryan wrote under the hash marks of his line. 'Tessi will eat with your mom and Rosie?'

'Uh-huh, she loves her 'buela's cooking.'

'Okay.' Ryan wrote _2 G-U, 1 Preggo - high fibre/protein, lots of fruits & veggies_. 'Alright, then let's take a look at the book man.'

* * *

'Oh that top is adorable, Mere!'

Beckett shoved RJ's stroller over towards a rack of summery-looking blouses and tops in the maternity boutique. They were loose and draping, and bright fun colours that made Beckett think of gelato - lemons and strawberries and lime greeens. She held one up, smiled. 'You'll look like a little scoop of ice cream,' she smiled in a sweet, motherly way.

'With two little cherries inside.'

'How big are they now?'

'Bububububub,' RJ babbled in his pram, blinking his blue eyes at his mother. 'Bububub.'

'Yes, I'm asking about the bubs, little man,' she cooed at him. 'We're letting Daddy have a whole day with big sister, aren't we? Yes we are, and helping Auntie Merry pick out clothes so she's a stylish yummy mummy.'

For whatever reason, the phrase had Meredeth's waterworks on red alert and she sank onto a nearby bench as she started sniffling. Beckett looked around and saw her friend crying, her round face buried in her hands. 'Hey, Mere, what's wrong?'

'I...I...' was as far as Meredeth got before she broke into a fresh sob.

Beckett nudged RJ forward a little, sat down beside her friend; she put a supportive arm around her shoulders. 'Hormones are a real bitch, aren't they?'

'Uh-huh, even worse with two, I've never been so up and down in my life, and Javi's...he's fantastic, just rolling with the punches and drying my tears when I need it, bringing me meals in bed if I'm too tired to get up and go downstairs, and...and I'm just not being a good wife right now, making him work and do all this extra stuff after he's done being a cop on duty for the day.'

'Oh, hormones you _are _a crazy bitch. Meredeth, I don't think you truly understand how much you are still doing for him.'

'But-'

'Let me ask you something, since you've gotten pregnant, when he has to go to a scene in the middle of the night, what do you do?'

'Give him a kiss for good luck and tell him there's food in the fridge to take with so he won't go hungry at work, then go back to sleep.'

'Do you know how huge that is for a cop? To know that you've got someone looking out for you like that because half the time we won't think to do it for ourselves? Mere, every time you do that, you're being a good wife. And what are you doing when he's at work?'

'Taking care of Tessi, resting lots to make sure our babies stay healthy.'

'Think about what you just said, Mere. _Our_ babies, you made them together. And yeah, you've got the heavy lifting job right now so he's stepping up his game. Think back to the very very first night you met us. What happened?'

'I had a night terror in Castle's guest room.'

'And Javier was there comforting you the exact same way he does now. That's his job, Mere, he takes care of you and your job is taking care of him.' Beckett paused as a thought occurred. 'Are you two not having sex right now? Is it frustration from that because you have a high-risk pregnancy?'

'God, are you kidding me? If I wasn't sleeping with Javi right now, I'd be institutionalized,' Meredeth laughed. 'That's the plus side of the hormones, I've never had better sex in my life with him than right now. Well, maybe our honey-moon, but you get my point.'

'That should tell you something too. Rick told me that Evil Meredith wouldn't so much as let him hug her when she was carrying Alexis, meanwhile I couldn't keep my hands off of him when this little guy was growing inside me,' Beckett said giving RJ's tummy a light tickle.

'So...basically, my hormones are turning mountains into mole hills and I'm feeling sorry for myself and I've wasted fifteen minutes of shopping time boo-hooing over nothing.'

'Yes to the first one, but no to the second and third things. You're entitled to your emotional outbursts when you're pregnant and having a friend to talk to is a great remedy. Bonding time and talking it out is never a waste, Mere. Believe me, I learned that in three years of therapy after I became a cop and it's something that being with Castle has taught me even more. Don't tell him I said that, though, his ego is big enough to fit in the Macy's parade as it is.'

'Deal,' Meredeth giggled, then let out an 'oof' when she felt a double kick. 'Bottom Twin is getting their kicks in today.'

'Yeah, they're saying we need to pick out some of these tops so you'll look so pretty when you and Javi and Tessi all go to the park this summer.'

* * *

'How much longer for the chicken?'

Esposito looked at the timer on his watch. 'About three minutes.'

'Cool.' Ryan paused the video game and they went back into the kitchen. Surprisingly, for two men who weren't the most handy of chefs, it didn't look like a train wreck of pots and pans. They'd cleaned as they'd worked and had made a great day of alternating between the kitchen doing food and the living room where they worked their way through the newest _Guardians of Valhalla_ game. 'Okay, chicken has been in there for over an hour, but we'll test it anyways.'

It smelled heavenly - Greek butter chicken, with onions, rosemary and lemon juice, to go with the plain oven roasted potatoes that were still sizzling away. And that chilli bubbling in the pot is more than likely going to be Meredeth's midnight, or nine pm, snack, so it's fine where it is.'

'And the tea?'

Esposito put his hands on the glass jars of tea that were cooling on the counter; they'd done red raspberry and red blackberry since rooibos was naturally caffeine free. 'They're room temperature now, so I think they're okay to cap and put in the fridge to cool down.'

'Sweet.'

They heard the sound of keys turning in the locks and Arturo raced to the door to greet his beloved mistress; Esposito could hear her snuffling at the belly and Beckett's laughing orders for him to get away, along with Castle's murmurs about the dog's loyalty to his family. His heart filled with love for Meredeth when he saw her carrying her purse on her shoulder and supporting her belly from the underside already. She was his beautiful Danish angel, who in her bright red shirt looked like a Danish apple. Behind her Beckett and Castle were carrying bags of clothes for both Meredeth and the babies.

'Hello Writer-Girl.'

'Hello Detective.' Meredeth greeted him with a warm kiss. 'No calls?'

'Nope, dead as Dillinger today.'

Castle sniffed the air. 'Something smells good, you guys order in?'

'I'm wounded, Castle.' Esposito put a hand to his heart as he took Meredeth's fingers and pressed them to her lips. 'I've been cooking.'

'Cooking?'

'Trying out that book Ryan and the guys gave me at the baby shower in the Hamptons,' he said proudly. 'Ryan and I have been working almost all day. You take such good care of me, making sure I'm well-fed so I can make New York a safer place for our babies, and now it's my turn to make sure you and our babies stay safe while they're still perking in the oven.

'See,' Beckett murmured to her friend. 'Toldja.'

'And as an added bonus, Tessi's with my mother, she want her granddaughters for a baking day which means you and I get a date night to ourselves. Look, look.' Giddy as a kid at Christmas, Esposito tugged her towards the fridge, showed off the jars of cooling tea. 'Iced tea, very tasty, and up here-' he opened the door to the freezer '-broccoli and cheese soup, your favourite, and some easy pasta dishes we can just bake and eat.'

'Oh.' Meredeth waved her hand in front of her face. 'I can't believe you did that.'

'Wait until you taste our creations.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	20. Ordinary Day

'Mere.'

'No, snoozing. Go away.'

Esposito laughed lowly, wondered if she knew Tessi reacted the same way when she didn't want to wake up. 'Baby, Robina's on the phone, said she can wait all day for your sweet pregnant buns.'

Meredeth rolled over, saw it was barely six-thirty in the morning and groaned. 'Couldn't she wait until a more human hour?'

'Come on, take your medicine like a good girl.'

Esposito, already dressed for work that morning, helped her sit up in bed and passed her the house line. 'Play nice,' he told her, giving her a kiss. 'I'm going to make you breakfast.'

'Yippee.' Meredeth cleared her throat, spoke as clearly as she could; in her belly both babies were kicking wildly at the inconvenience of being disturbed. 'Hello, crazy lady.'

'You're going to thank me in a minute.'

Robina was all but singing it and it made Meredeth want to hit her all the more. 'Why are you so cheery so early?'

'I'm in England right now, so it's almost lunchtime here. Anyways, guess why I called.'

'Robina, it's six-thirty in the morning here, I was awake at two and then at four because the babies are both kicking my insides around like a soccer ball and making me hungry and in need of the bathroom all the freakin' time. Do I sound like I'm in the mood for guessing games?'

'Fine, Miss Prissy-Preggo, I won't tell you that I got a call from the producers of _Inside the Actors Studio _who want you as part of their involvement in Literacy Awareness Month in New York City.'

'What?'

'I'm serious. The producers left a message for me, they're doing a month long series of interviews with television, theatre, and movie writers, particularly those who are from or write about New York City, and they want you, Kristof and the cast of _Lady Hawk: Midnight is Crashing_ for June twenty-second.'

'Seriously?'

'Yep, a full hour dedicated to your work and the transformation from the books into the miniseries. You know I rarely tell you what to do, let you make your own decisions on this kind of stuff, but I think this is one of the best moves you could make for the upcoming miniseries, publicity-wise.'

'You think?'

'Very much so. There is nothing people love more than a home-grown success story and they love them even more when there are babies involved. Since the miniseries publicity is going to fall in November and I doubt with twins on the way you are going to want to do interviews in L.A. and Chicago and the like, taking advantage of this would be a gold mine.'

'Okay, set it up, and send me the details. Right now, I'm going to have breakfast with Javi and then go back to bed.'

'Alright, take care, and give the family my love. I'll see you soon.'

Meredeth hung up, then with a giddy kick of the covers, levered herself out of bed and went downstairs to find Esposito shirtless and she felt an extra surge of her hormones. In her booster chair, Tessi had a concerned look on her face.

'Mami, Daddy oushie,' she told her.

'Daddy oushie? What happened?'

'An oatmeal air-pocket exploded, landed on my shirt,' he told her. 'Do I have any other matching shirts clean?'

'White shirt with the off-white pinstripe will look sharp.'

'That right there is why I love you, you always got my back.'

'Well, then maybe you will have mine on June twenty-second?'

Esposito looked up from pouring Tessi's oatmeal and pureed blueberries into a bowl together. 'I take that date has to do with Robina's call?'

'Yes it does. _Inside the Actor's Studio_ wants me, Kristof and the cast of _Lady Hawk: Midnight is Crashing_ to give an interview as part of the city's Literacy Awareness Month. They're featuring television, theatre and movie writers, and they want us.'

'Mere, baby, that's awesome! You said yes, right?'

'Of course I did.'

'Good. Then we'll have film footage of the twins just like we have Tessi on _The Late Late Show._' Esposito gave her a kiss. 'I'm going to be late if I don't go and change.'

He darted out, and Meredeth went about putting together her husband's lunch while Tessi spooned little bites of oatmeal into her mouth, and chattered in between.

'Mami, pu-pa oh-me-oh yum-yum.'

'I'll take your word for it.' The girl loved blueberries like they were going to be deemed contraband, which Meredeth thought was hilarious because neither she nor Esposito liked them in the slightest.

Tessi scraped the bottom of her bowl, then grinned when Esposito walked in with his fresh shirt on. 'Daddy han-some.'

'Thanks princess. Gimme one for good luck.' He made a humming sound in his throat when Meredeth laid her lips on his. 'We gonna finish that tonight?'

'You know it.'

'Excellent. You too, princess, gimme one for good luck.'

Tessi puckered up and gave him a blueberry oatmeal peck, then turned her big blue eyes to her mother. 'Babies wan' moosh too?'

* * *

'Dude you smell like blueberry muffins.' Ryan sniffed at his friend as they studied their murder board on the Fowler push-in robbery gone wrong. 'Meredeth baking yesterday?'

'No, ah, breakfast mishap. Have we heard from CSU at all?'

'Surveillance should be up within the hour, and Shane sent over his prelim, looks like our COD was the skull fracture to the head. The rest of the blows were post-mortem, but they're methodical akin to torture, not frenzied attacks.'

'So our guy breaks in, looking for

'Except here's the strange thing, the hallmarks of break-in aren't there.' Ryan pointed to the evidence photos. 'There's no scratch marks from any tools, no signs of tampering with the locks, all the windows are shut.'

'Maybe we're looking at a bump-key, remember the home invasions when Castle first came on with us?'

'Yeah, I remember that, but why go to all that trouble over an apartment on the Lower East side with no obvious valuables to take?'

'Financials will probably give us the answer to that 'why'. Bank has the warrant and we'll have records in a little while.'

Esposito nodded, thought of his own home. The house itself was worth money because of its location, like Dennison Fowler's apartment, and like Fowler's, Meredeth kept no obvious valuables. There was the television and the gaming systems, sure and Meredeth's collection of films, but those weren't the kind of thing that you planned for months in advance so it looked like the perp had slipped in through the safety-peep in the door.

Ryan saw the pensive look on his partner's face, folded his arms over his chest. 'What are you thinking?'

'I'm thinking you're right about the financials and I'm thinking we're going to find a safety deposit box in Dennison Fowler's name at the bank. Why break in with that precision and leave the television, the game systems, the movies, all easily fenced for some quick cash. Yet all that was there and whoever did this beat righteous shit out of Fowler's head.'

'You're thinking he had information,' Ryan saw the dots, began to connect them. 'Fowler's got something of value in his bank vault and it's a hell of a lot easier to break a head than a bank. We don't know what Fowler was into though. His phone records are clean, nothing suspicious there. Or suspicious yet, since the financial records are en route.'

Before they could bitch about being in a holding pattern until the warrant went through, Esposito's cellphone rang in Meredeth's custom tone. 'Hey, Mere.'

'Hey Javi.'

'What's up.'

'Just wanted to hear your voice.'

'Oh, okay.' She'd begun doing this more of late, and he knew exactly why - they had the amnio results coming up at the end of the week and she was nervous as hell about the results, and whenever he could, Esposito indulged her. 'How are my babies?'

'Good. We've been doing laundry this morning, and now we're having tea and watching 'toons with Tessi and she's explaining who everyone is to the belly.'

'That's so sweet.'

'Bro, bank records came through,' Ryan told him as he checked his computer. 'Say hi to the girls and babies for me.'

'Mere I gotta run, we just had bank records come through, so I gotta run. Ryan says hi girls and hi babies.'

'Hi back. I'll see you later, we can finish that kiss from this morning when you're home.'

'Nice. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

He didn't make it home until nearly nine, owing to the treasure trove of investigative goodies they found in Dennison Fowler's bank records - the man did indeed have a safe-deposit which contained some very interesting documents. As an accountant at Copperstone Manufacturing, he had access to many different documents, and the kinds they found in the bank-vault were indeed the kind that someone would pay to keep covered up. Though it meant the suspect list had now lengthened considerably - though any number was better than zero - it also meant a full day of interviewing and canvassing at the plant in the Bronx.

Of course the downside had been calling Meredeth and Tessi to tell them he'd be late and Meredeth said that was fine, she'd see him when he was home with a little surprise. Today, 'late' meant shortly after nine pm; Tessi would be in bed asleep and Meredeth would also be tucked in for the night. He thought of having a quick bite of leftovers in the fridge - they'd had minestrone, he could smell it the moment he walked in the door - and wondered if Meredeth might like a little snack with him as well.

But first, before food, he would go upstairs and see his girls. He stopped in first in Tessi's room and saw she was curled on her side with Crush tucked under her arm. With a kiss on her brow, he murmured to her. 'Daddy loves you princess.'

'Daddy,' she sighed in her sleep and tucked herself into a little ball.

Esposito smiled and left her with her puppy standing down beside her bed, went into his room to see his queen, only she wasn't in her cute pjs. She'd been waiting for him, he realized, as she'd fallen asleep in the pretty soft-purple negligee he'd gotten her when she'd been pregnant with Tessi. She knew he loved the colour purple on her, and she'd often chosen it for her lingerie when she was particularly in the mood for some loving.

With careful moves, he undressed from his work clothes, and slipping into bed behind her, pulled her close with his hand on her belly. Even as gentle and smooth as he was, noting escaped her notice and Meredeth blinked her sleepy eyes at the added weight on her belly.

'Javi?'

'Hi, baby.'

'I tried to wait up and welcome you home.'

'I know, my love.' Esposito kissed her neck, breathed deep her scent. 'This is good too.'

'Maybe for you. You know what it's like trying to fall asleep when you're preggo-horny?'

'Couldn't you take care of it yourself?'

'Not the same, baby.' Meredeth turned herself over to face him, put her hand on his face. 'How was your day?'

'Long. And we can talk about it in a minute. Right now, you look like a sexy little Danish plum and it makes me wanna nibble on you, amongst other things.'

'I like the way you think.'

Esposito kissed her deeply, rolled her back so she spooned against him, taking the pressure off of her abdomen. He tugged down the lacy straps of the negligee and kissed the curve of her neck to her shoulders, making her sigh deeply. His hands slipped under the soft fabric and he found she wasn't wearing any panties which, pregnant or otherwise, never failed to get him hot. Caressing her gently but firmly, Esposito stroked his fingertips upward and found her already beginning to dampen for him. 'Why don't I take care of this for you?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	21. Doctor's Orders

On Thursday morning, Meredeth was a bouncing bundle of nerves. It was Honey-Milk's turn to be on-call and she'd brought Dell with her to look after Tessi, so her nerves were somewhat relieved over that. Tessi would be well taken care of so she could focus all her energy on not freaking out, or trying not to at least. She'd barely been able to sleep the night before between the bottom twin using her kidneys for bongo drums and her own anxiety to hear if her babies were healthy or not.

She glanced over to Esposito, who was sitting in the chair, just as silent and anxious as she was. It was one of the best understandings in their relationship - while waiting for news like this, neither wanted the void filled with extraneous chatter. The simple squeezes they gave each others hands while they waited patiently said more than an hour of noise ever could.

The door to Harvey's office opened and Meredeth heard her husband suck in a breath when Harvey gave them his patent, doctor-y non-descript smile.

'So how are things looking doc?'

'You are growing two perfectly healthy babies, Meredeth,' he told her confidently. 'There's no signs of developmental delay or disease, there's no TTTS, no diabetes, no heart problems. They are very strong and because you've been taking such good care of your own health there's far less chance of miscarriage.'

'How much less?'

'Given the medical evidence at hand, I would say you've gone from about a twenty percent chance to a fifteen, which may not sound like a lot but when you're dealing with biology and genetics like this, trust me, that's a significant factor. The most important thing to take away from it is the fact that you are now at a far less risk of having the babies before thirty-six weeks.'

'Oh God, thank you,' Esposito blew out a breath. He dropped his chin to his chest and prayed silently for a moment. 'Thank you, Harvey.'

'Thank yourselves, you've been incredibly supportive to one another. Pregnancy is to be enjoyed and you are enjoying while still being attentive. It's a hard balance to find and you should be proud.' Harvey smiled. 'Now, that being said, I would like to put you on a week's bed-rest starting Friday, Meredeth, because your blood pressure is still a little concerning and we want to get that in check before it becomes a problem.'

'Okay, so are we talking total bed-rest or can I get up to pee or what?'

'You can use the bathroom independently, but beyond that, you are in bed resting. Absolutely no doing laundry, cooking, house-work, none of that. You need to be off your feet.'

'What about Tessi, I mean, she's an active kid, she likes to do things like go to the park and take Arturo for a walk with me.'

Harvey nodded in understanding. 'This is a great time to show her how she is going to be a help around the house for you once the babies arrive. From what I understand keeping in touch with Nurse Ryan, you have a good buddy-system in place to help look after your daughter.'

'I can take a few days of leave as well,' Esposito added, but Meredeth shook her head.

'You guys are already short-handed with Beckett on maternity leave and Castle staying at home with her to write. It's not like I'm going into the hospital, I'm just at home resting and I've got my girls on my buddy system.'

'No. You are my wife and you need me more. Montgomery will understand.'

Meredeth recognized the steel in his voice and knew he wouldn't be swayed no matter how much she cajoled and reasoned with him. Knowing what her job as a good wife was today, she covered his hand and smiled. 'Okay. If you think that's best and the captain doesn't get pissy about it, Thursday and Friday. I just don't want you to max out your time off before the babies get here, you know?'

'I know.' Esposito picked up their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. 'What else, Doctor?' he asked.

'The position of the babies is making it possible, at least at this point, for a totally vaginal birth, so I'm going to go ahead and sign you up for the twins-delivery counseling starting in September. It's essentially your birthing class but it's done one-on-one with our staff therapist who specializes in fetal medicine, as well as Daniel Brick and Andrea Henessey. You know them, and they will be able to give you great counseling on any questions you have.'

'Sounds good to me. Mere?'

'Jenny works with them both and I trust both of your professional opinions,' Meredeth nodded in agreement. 'You haven't steered us wrong yet.'

'Thank you. I'll give you a scrip for a refill on your vitamins, you can pick it up on your next appointment, and don't forget, you'll find out what you're having then.'

On the bench outside the doctor's office, Meredeth rubbed her belly as they waited for Ryan. 'Hear that, kids, we find out who's what next time,' she murmured to them.

Esposito leaned in, rubbed his hand over the mound. 'You guys play nice with Mami, alright? She's doing a great job taking care of you already, making sure you stay good and strong inside there.'

'What a bunch of love-doves.'

They looked up, saw Ryan had pulled up in the Crown Vic, which had Esposito getting to his feet and help Meredeth to hers. 'We'll give you a lift home, then head on our way, okay?'

'Sure. You take care of my detective.'

'Sure, so long as you take care of my babies.'

'Deal.' Meredeth gave him a kiss. 'Love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

By the following Wednesday, Meredeth was ready to lose her mind. She'd been stuck in bed for the majority of her waking moments, which had made Tessi rather irritated with her when she couldn't accompany Lanie or Beckett or Honey-Milk on their walks with Arturo down to the park. Of course, Meredeth had done her level best to keep her frustration in check and make it up to her daughter by playing games with her, like Go Fish and Memory and even a little intro to Scrabble to help her learn how to spell simple words.

Her friends and their buddy-system paid off as well, a few times tag-teaming her so that she had one friend cleaning or doing laundry while the other kept her and Tessi company. At times it made Meredeth feel a little better but mostly, she felt like Ying-Ying the fat-ass panda at the zoo, too lazy to do a god-damn thing for herself. Her husband must have sensed her frustration as well, because he did literally whatever she asked him to do, even when that meant she would snap or cry as opposed to being her usual sweet self. It hadn't been an easy few days and Esposito knew he was getting short-tempered at work, but his partner would simply let him rant or snap and then give him a little 'feel better now' and they'd continued on their way; they did it this way because they were family.

By the time Tuesday rolled around and Esposito was looking at the fun side of his day off, he had a plan. It had taken a little bargaining and a couple of phone calls to manage it, but he knew he would definitely win the hubby of the year prize.

Opening the door, he walked in with a bag of ll Meredeth's favourite junky take-out foods and a bouquet of yellow tulips in the other. He'd already picked up a special little something for Tessi as well and hidden it in the same table drawer where he kept his service pistol when he was off-duty. Tonight he was going to spoil his girls absolutely rotten. With his weapon safely stowed out of reach and sight from Tessi and Meredeth, he tucked the little gift under his arm and went upstairs to the master bedroom. Sure enough, he found Tessi and Meredeth there with a game-board between them and Tessi with a card in her hand.

'What are my beautiful ladies up to?' he said, coming into the room; the sound of his voice had Tessi looking over and grinning widely.

'Danny-lan', Daddy. I ye-wow. Mama geen.'

'Oh?' Moving closer he could see they were indeed playing Candyland, and Tessi had just picked up a card for her turn. He set down the bag, but kept the flowers and he moved to sit behind Meredeth, who was flaked out crosswise in the middle of the bed, head propped on her hand. 'For you, my love,' he said, passing her the bouquet.

'Oh, Javi, they're beautiful.' Meredeth sniffed the tulips, gave her husband a kiss. 'You are such a good husband.'

'And tonight I thought we'd have a total junk-fest since you've been behaving so nicely. We're ordering Petrelli's, and I got those loaded-baked-potato chips you love so much, and the veggie-corn twisty thingies you love, and spicy plantains too with the sour-cream and chive dip, _and_ the fancy all-dressed popcorn salt you like too. That'll have your blood pressure through the roof in no time.'

'Aren't you so sweet,' she replied, giving him another kiss. 'You want to join in with me and Tessi? We just started a fresh game.'

'Daddy boo,' Tessi suggested, passing Esposito the blue game token.

'In a minute, princess.' Esposito kissed her cheek. 'You know, Tessi, you've been a very big girl helping Mami out while she's had to rest.'

'Mami 'tay bed, babies be-have.'

'That's right, and to thank you for being such a big girl, I thought you might like this.'

He passed her the gift and instantly the game was forgotten, as Tessi ripped into the paper and smiled brightly. 'Mami, see, new book.'

Meredeth examined the cover - Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now - and grinned. 'It's beautiful, Tessi, I'm just surprised your daddy found you a Seuss book you didn't already have.'

'Read bed-time?'

'Yes, we'll read it at bed-time tonight, but in the mean-time, there is pizza awaiting to be eaten and I think, we just might have _The Little Mermaid_ downstairs as well.'

'Fishies! I find Dush, wash fishies!'

'Tidy up the game first, missy,' Meredeth reminded her, and Tessi nodded; she rounded up the cards and game pieces into the box before going in search of her stuffed turtle. 'You wanting a little daddy-daughter time with her?'

'I called Harvey, told him you've been behaving yourself and he said you can come downstairs with us, but you're lying on the couch.'

'Oh, Javi.' Happy little tears perked up in the corners of Meredeth's eyes. 'Baby, really?'

'Really, really.' If she was getting this worked up over the prospect of moving from the bedroom to the living room, he knew she was going to lose her mind when she saw what was waiting downstairs.

They went down to the living room and sure enough, Meredeth put her hands to her mouth when she saw what was there - in the living room was a Smartboard with a game waiting for her. But not just any game. The new edition of the Nikki Heat Case Files that Castle had worked up to include her alter ego of Maggie Ochoa in his fictional universe was waiting happily for a new game to start.

'Oh...oh, Javier, oh my god, this is too much,' she sniffled, and turned to give him a squeezing hug. 'How...how?'

'Beckett was your buddy today and while you were napping she had Castle and Alexis bring it over, after I told her that you'd get to be off bed-rest tonight.'

'I must have been really out of it. Did...did he do this just for me?'

'Sort of. Once Castle learned we were trying again, and that Beckett wanted more of the characters in the series included, he went back and did some more stories, had us do our own voices here and there again and now Beckett and you have more crimes to solve. So tonight, we'll be total teenagers - eat junk food, watch a movie and play video games.'

Meredeth rubbed her belly as she stretched out on the couch. 'All three of us think that's a pretty sweet deal.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	22. Inside the SoHo Loft: 21 Weeks

A week later, they gathered at Castle's for the usual cards' night, only instead, they were crowded around for the airing of Meredeth's interview. Since it was filmed right there in New York and not aired the same day, for the first time Meredeth was able to be in the room with them while she was also on television. Lanie and Dave had made it, as had Lili and Cam, and while Alexis and Dave had gone to pick up their sandwiches from Greco's, and Beckett fed little RJ upstairs before putting him to bed, the rest were seated in various spots around the living room, waiting for the start of the show.

'You nervous?' Esposito asked, bringing her a caffeine-free root-beer with lots of ice.

'A little, I mean, I hope I don't sound too sad or too pretentious.'

He nodded; she'd revealed some very personal stuff during her solo part of the interview because as he'd learned, the _Lady Hawk_ stories had come from a very dark part of her own history. Esposito knew his Meredeth and that she would share those painful memories of her past in order to give the audience the full understanding of just how much of herself truly went into her work. He knew that many of the people who read comics such as hers were often drawn to a sympathetic story for comfort and a means of catharsis, like how Beckett was a closet Bat-fan; that made perfect sense.

With a patient sigh, he rubbed her belly, which had popped up like a souffle in the last week. He could fee the top twin moving around greatly. 'Is that twin doing a little happy dance for you, Mere?'

'I have no idea,' she laughed. 'He or she is always wiggly.'

'No wonder Tessi is calling that one Shello.'

'Shello?' Lanie asked, trying not to giggle. 'Oh, Jell-O, I get it. Yeah, when Carey was learning to speak, he called his pj's his 'jimmies'.'

'Rosie called all horses 'dorns', like unicorns,' Cam added, eyeing up the plates of snacks and wondering how long it would take the others to return with sandwiches. 'I suppose every child has their little words codes like that, don't they?'

'Are you forgetting my son whose taught all of our kids the word 'moosh' instead of 'kiss'?' Ryan pointed out. 'Even though he knows the difference now, he still uses moosh.'

The door to the apartment opened and Dave and Alexis returned with the bounty of food - sandwiches, salads and fizzing lemonade, which they distributed amongst everyone. Though Meredeth was craving more pizza - there was something about the chewiness of it she loved this time around while pregnant - she knew a grilled chicken sandwich with tomatoes and mozzarella was a tasty and healthy substitute, and that her colon and the babies would thank her later with the crisp, leafy green salad instead of the kettle-chips she wanted to go with them.

She'd barely gotten two mouthfuls in when she heard the opening credits' music for the show and she felt the little bites she's taken lurch in her stomach. 'Here we go,' she murmured.

There were footsteps on the stairs and Beckett came flying over to the couch. 'Did I miss anything?'

'Opening credits, and the intro for Meredeth as the creator of the series along with the voice cast,' Castle replied as she sat down beside him. 'How's RJ?'

'Sleeping like an angel with a full tummy. Shh!'

On screen, the scholarly voice of James Lipton was welcoming their friend and all watched, chewing thoughtfully with their eyes glued to the screen as Meredeth walked onto the stage looking very New York preggo-chic.

_We are especially grateful for Meredeth to join us, because as you can tell she's doing quite a bit of multi-tasking these days, and what I learned just minutes before she came out to talk with us is that she has not one, but two babies on the way._

The loft made cute, cooing noises, which had Meredeth blushing lightly as the interview got underway.

_How old were you when the first incarnation of Lady Hawk came about?_

_I was fourteen. I was working on an assignment for my Writer's Craft class and the story was originally about a group of female crime fighters who all had some kind of injustice done to them by the same group of thugs or criminals or whatever you want to call them, so they banded together to try and rub this band of miscreants out from the city._

_Who were some of those other characters?_

_There was four in total, there was Tabitha Stroud aka Lady Hawk, there was Cecily Marks aka Madam Scorpion, Emmanuella Cabrera aka The Duchess and Emily Leonard aka Sister Sugar, and when I was originally planning the graphic novel series some years later, there was the idea of putting them as a crime-fighting group and have different books focus on their struggles, but the more I looked at it, the more I really wanted to stick with Tabitha Stroud, I think because I'd used so much of my, what was going on in my life and what I was trying to deal with._

_This was a very personal story to write, wasn't it?_

_Yes, it was basically therapy. My mother was a nurse in the air-force and she died in combat when I was eleven, and she was a single parent, so I went to live with another family member and there was a period of abuse from my cousin, to the point where I was hospitalized, and after I went to live with my grandmother in Chelsea, she raised me after my mother died. I was having night terrors so badly that I was on heavy medication and occasionally had to be hospitalized over a period of two years. And my therapist, she told me to start writing down my dreams, good and bad, start keeping a journal, and when I was developing the back story for Tabitha, I used those, and gradually, as I began to use them as the basis for a story line, the more power and control I gained so that I was able to take what I had gone through and not become a victim. It was the first time I'd thought to use my writing as something healing because I'd always been a story-writer, but this was taking it to a whole new level and I was suddenly understanding what people meant when they said a character on paper could be complex and have depth.  
_

In the loft, Esposito squeezed Meredeth's hand tightly while on her other side, Lanie put a supportive hand on her knee.

'That's very brave, Mere,' she murmured.

'You think?'

'Oh yeah,' Cam agreed. 'I don't know if I'd have to guts to talk about what I went through after getting shot in the knee like that.'

'Sshh, we're missing the good stuff!' Dave hissed.

_You've said that Tabitha Stroud is essentially your Lisbeth Salander or Lieutenant Eve Dallas, how did you make the leap to go from thinking it would be a standard paperback to a graphic novel?_

_I was struggling a little to work on it, I was in grad school at the time, and I was toying with parts of the story here and there, and a friend of mine, he'd gone to RISD for his undergrad was studying visual art at Tisch, I told him the story I was working on and he asked to read it. So I sent him a copy, and didn't hear about it from him for like a month, and when he sent it back to me, he'd actually done up comic book style panels on what I'd already shown him, and a note saying, once the semester is done, give me the rest and I'll draw it for you. And that was the rough draft we submitted to Double-Diamond, our publisher.  
_

_We all know the name of that friend, don't we?_

_Yes, Kristof Schillen, who sends his apologies that he couldn't be here today, he's in Copenhagen on some family business._

_The series of Lady Hawk has gone on to become a world wide phenomenon, when was the first time you got a real taste that this was something that had touched a lot of people?_

_Well, I think everyone has their moment of, ooookay that was weird, and authors I think are the ones who have the truly hardcore fans because they're not in the limelight like musicians or actors, so when someone comes up to you in the grocery store or the park and is like 'I love your work', you know they're usually not BS-ing. _

_Is there any one time like that that sticks out in your mind? _

_There is, there's one that stands out for me in particular, I was at the pet store, I'd just gotten my dog like two weeks before and I was trying to pick out a pet-bed and you know that feeling like your being watched, I look up and there's this young man and woman there both staring at me and I was like can I help you, and they both went you're Meredeth Coleman aren't you? I was like, yes, and then they let out this shriek loud enough to crack glass, I kid you not._

'Is that why you get all Arturo's toys from the store beside the vet's clinic now?' Esposito asked her.

'Uh-huh, the next time I tried to go back there, I got swarmed.'

'I've never thought of you to be someone who has to deal with that kind of thing?' Lili said, reaching for the fizzing lemonade to refill her glass.

'And usually I don't, but every now and then it crops up. Mostly, those kinds of crazies stick to the Internet, though I remember the last time that happened,' Meredeth replied with a shudder.

The rest of the program detailed how the rest of the cast had come together for the miniseries and the audience was treated to an exclusive preview of the new series that would debut in December, and finally, they were treated to everyone's favourite part - the infamous Pivot questionnaire.

_What is your favourite word?_

_Snickerdoodle, I can't say it without smiling _

_What is your least favourite word?_

_Serendipity._

'Seriously? I'd think it'd be gunshot,' Castle said.

'Serendipity makes me think of flaky snakes,' Meredeth replied, which had everyone laughing, then shushing so they could hear.

_What turns you on?_

_My husband's smile, it was one of the first things I noticed about him when he first met_

_What turns you off? _

_Children in danger  
_

_What sound/noise do you love?_

_The sound of my daughter's laugh, it's just like her daddy's  
_

_What sound/noise do you hate?  
_

_A child or animal crying in pain  
_

_And now the one everyone always loves, what is your favourite curse word_

_Skede. It's Danish for p****_

The censored word Meredeth used had them all, save for Esposito, raising an eyebrow. They'd known her for almost six years and never once heard her use that word, even the girls when they were having a down-and-dirty talk.

_What profession other than yours would you like to try?_

_Chef  
_

_What profession other than yours would you not like to try?_

_Paparazzi or ophthalmologist. Eye injuries freak me out, I can't even watch commercials for LASIKS.  
_

_What would you like to hear when you arrive at the pearly gates?_

_This is one party it's okay to be late for_

The noise of congratulations in the loft drowned out the remainder of the interview, so they muted the volume and gave Meredeth their full attention.

'Congrats, _cunada_, you did amazing,' Lili told her.

'Really, really great interview,' Dave added.

'Yeah?'

'Hell yes,' Castle agreed. 'You were personal and approachable but still very much a pro and in command. That's a hard thing to do.'

'Baby, I'm so proud of you,' Esposito kissed her, then whispered in her ear, 'and tonight, I'll really make you smile.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	23. Boy Girl Boy Girl

The next morning, when Meredeth and Esposito would find out what sex their twins were, was also Esposito day off shift this rotation. As they didn't have to be at Harvey's office until ten, they stayed in bed until almost eight. Esposito awoke slowly, the way he liked to when he had the day off, holding his wife in his arms and smelling her hair. It might have sounded like the fruitiest thing in the world but he knew for a fact that his partner, who was every inch a cop as he, did essentially the same thing, and that Beckett snuggled up to Castle night after night.

Besides, his wife was hot, who wouldn't want to cozy up to her?

With his lips against her shoulder, he stroked his hand over her belly which was already squirming.

'Hey in there,' he murmured, 'we get to find out who's who today. Do I have a pair of princes or princesses or one of each inside Mami? And more importantly, what are we going to call you aside from Shello and Porky?'

'No cutesy twin names,' Meredeth mumbled, hearing her husband talking to the babies. She'd once again become a light sleeper with the babies kicking and moving around inside her. 'Like Cara and Mia if they're girls or Juan and Jose if they're boys. They are two people, not fifty percent of a set.'

'That's very true, so...oh, mmm.' Espositofelt his wife slide her the arch of her foot over his calf, take the hand that rested on her belly and slid it up to her soft-skinned breast, felt the pebble-hardness of her nipple. 'In the mood for sugar?'

'No, not sugar.' Meredeth rolled her considerable-sized self to face him. She leaned in, whispered in his ear, 'Honey.'

He knew what she meant, felt his own blood move around as he eased her on to her back. With a kiss that both loved and stirred Esposito nudged her thighs apart, tugged down the panties that had been her pyjamas. He caressed her, gently and tenderly, each pass on her long legs going high and higher. He left his hand against her and lowered his mouth to her breast, flicking his tongue over her and making her groan in satisfaction for him. She dampened against him sweetly, and he stroked her a bit until he knew she was ready. Drifting downwards, he trailed kisses down over the rising bump to her tattoo until he reached the honeypot.

Meredeth let her head fall back against the pillows as she clutched at the sheets beneath her, planted her feet on the bed as her husband licked and tasted her where sensation throbbed hard. He had a most magical mouth, those lips so firm ans sweet were so multi-talented. Then she felt his tongue brush against her trigger and she lost the ability to think at all. Her hands went from clutching at the sheets to running over her breasts, upwards so that she clung to the rails of the headboard with a white-knuckle grip. Since the bump was in the way, she couldn't rub her hands over his head like she wanted to, so instead she moaned and sighed his name, telling him how good it felt. Her hips moved in reaction and he kept them steady with his hands as his mouth worked against her, making the spring inside her coil tighter and tighter until it burst and she came with his name on her lips.

Esposito felt her shudder beneath him, and he gave the inside of her thigh a little kiss as he moved up her body; he could see her belly rippling from where the twins were moving around at Meredeth's quickened heart-rate. His own arousal was quite evident as it butted up against her hip when he went to spoon with her, but she poked her finger in his chest.

'My turn.'

'Yeah?'

'Mm-hmm. Hop on, big guy.'

Esposito chuckled lowly at her invitation, but wasn't about to argue with her. Straddling her chest, he positioned himself and closed his eyes as he felt her take him into his mouth. He groaned lightly when her tongue grazed him. She was so good at this, the best he'd ever had. No one had a mouth like Meredeth Dakkars Esposito and she definitely knew how to use it. He swallowed tightly when he felt her hands on the outsides of his thighs, encouraging him to go a little deeper; he stayed there only a few seconds until he felt her tongue on him again and her deep sigh of satisfaction while she worked him until he felt the release of the orgasm, his body shaking from it. When he was drained and sated, he moved off his beautiful Meredeth, slipped behind her to pull her close.

'Good morning, hubby,' she murmured with a giggle.

'Good morning, little woman,' he replied.

'I'm not sure anything about me can be called little right now.'

Esposito kissed her above her ear. 'I don't know about that. You still have a cute little nose.'

'What time is it?'

'About quarter to nine, which means that Tessi probably has chewed through her blanket. I'll get her ready, you take a shower. What are you feeling for breakfast?'

'A nice little bit of toast with cheese and fruit.'

'No cereal?'

Meredeth shook her head, couldn't resist the dirty joke. 'I've already had a little milk this morning.'

* * *

'Mami, see babies soon?'

From her spot on the examination table, Tessi looked up at her mother. She was getting so big these days, it was getting harder and harder to hug her but when Tessi put her hands on Meredeth's expanding belly, she could feel the twins moving around and understood they were getting bigger which was why Meredeth was getting bigger too. She had a vague memory of Tia Lili getting bigger and bigger until Duncan was finally here just after Christmas. 'We see babies?' she asked again.

'Yes, Tessi-boo we're going to see the babies, but do you know what is so special about this time?'

'No.'

'We're going to find out what they are.'

Tessi gave her mother a look. 'Mami, we know they babies.'

'No, princess,' Esposito laughed, 'we'll find out if it's two boys or two girls or one of each.'

'Oh. Bos or sissers?'

'Exactly.'

The door opened to the patient room and Andrea came in with the sonogram equipment. 'Doctor Harvey is just finish up with a patient,' she said brightly, playing with a necklace Meredeth hadn't seen her wearing the last time. 'He'll be right in.'

'New necklace, Andy?' Meredeth asked as Esposito plucked Tessi up and parked her on his lap so Meredeth could lie down in anticipation of the reading.

'Oh this.' Andrea gave a flustered little laugh. 'It was a gift from Daniel for our six months in May.'

'Let's have a look?'

Andrea obliged her, leaned in so Meredeth could see the pendent - a multicoloured butterfly in sterling silver. 'The chain for it just came in so I couldn't wear it for almost a month.'

'What did you get him?'

'Tickets to UFC in July. I personally do not see the appeal of watching grown men in tiny tiny shorts beat the ever-lasting snot out of each other, but he loves it. Maybe it's like boxing or basketball, you have to see it live to appreciate it, at least I'm hoping that's what will happen when we go.'

Meredeth and Esposito exchanged a little smile. A woman who would give her significant other something that was one-hundred percent his interest and that she was willing to be open-minded was most definitely in love, and both hoped they would be together a long time. As luck would have it, Daniel himself stuck his head into the room, his face full of apology.

'Hey, Andrea, can you tell Harvey when you see him I was paged to the hospital? Phillips needs an anesthetist for an emergency procedure and they're short-handed. I already told them at the desk.'

'Sure, no problem.'

'I'll see you at home, okay?'

Andrea nodded and pinked in her rosy Irish cheeks when he kissed her, murmuring he loved her in her ear, then turned back to Meredeth and Esposito who were trying without success to hide their smiles.

'Home, huh?' Esposito asked. 'You two are sharing accomodations now?'

'Sort of. His apartment building had to be fumigated for termites so he's been staying a week with me.' She paused, plugged in the ultrasound equipment in anticipation of Harvey's arrival. 'He's moving in when his lease is up in August. I think he's it.'

Meredeth's romantic heart went to mush at the news, then felt her heart quicken in excitement when Harvey stepped in.

'Oh, Doctor, Nurse Brick-'

'Yes, I just passed him in the hallway, he told me.' Harvey, in one of his natty suits that always seemed to look out of place on him, pulled up a rolling-foot stool while Andrea snapped on gloves, squeezed the gel onto Meredeth's waiting stomach. 'Okay, Esposito family, time to find out what we're having.'

'I see?'

'Of course, baby girl.' With his daughter in his arms, Esposito stood up, then put Tessi on her feet, shoved the chair up beside Meredeth while he took his place up by Meredet's head, so he could lean forward and kiss her forehead.. He gripped his wife's hand tightly while they watched on screen. Andrea moved the ultrasound wand over the belly, down near Meredeth's tattoo then up near her navel and smiled.

'So Twin A, the wiggly one on top, is a little girl,' she told her, then moved the wand to the other baby, rotating it as necessary to show the genitalia off. 'And Twin B underneath, that's her brother.'

'One of each?' Meredeth's voice was a squeak of excitement. She tilted her gaze up to see Esposito's face, which was shining with joy. 'One of each, Javi!'

'Bo an' sis?' Tessi asked, looking up at her daddy.

'Yes, Tessi, you get a little bro and a little sis.' Esposito discreetly wiped away the spring of tears in the corners of his eyes. 'We get a son and a daughter.'

Andrea gave them a wide smile, the one Daniel had fallen for, and pressed a few buttons to print the images, took the measurements she knew Harvey would want for the official medical file. 'Congratulations, you guys.'

'They big-ger,' Tessi observed. 'Look like babies, no' fishies.'

'They do indeed, Tessi. Andrea, why don't you take our big sister and get her a little something to drink from the lounge?'

'No tickies?'

'Or stickers instead, if you like.'

Tessi brightened at the news of stickers, and hopped down from her chair, went over to take Andrea's hand and asked her about Daniel and his 'moosh'. With their little girl taken care of, the Esposito focused their attention back on Harvey.

'So, what's the word doc?'

'Girl Twin is looking good, she's about ten-point six inches and Boy Twin is about ten-point-two. The way they are positioned in your body, the boy twin will come first.'

'You're thinking it's still going to be a vaginal birth?' Esposito asked, his chest tightening in anticipation. 'How will that work with twins?'

'Yes, for two reasons, one there is no concerns with Meredeth's health and two the top twin is moving around a lot, which means she'll more than likely end up head down the same as her brother. It works the same way, and despite any concerns you might have about the birth itself, the second baby actually might come out more easily because you've already had one come out.'

'What if I am late, will you wait for the sac to pop or will I be induced?'

Harvey shook his head. 'The way your babies are doing gymnastics inside you, I'd bank on being a mom and dad to three by Hallowe'en, maybe even earlier. More than anything, anticipate the birth itself to be very similar to a singleton, only you'll be pushing twice.'

'Harvey?'

'Yes, Meredeth.'

'I still want drugs. Lots and lots of drugs.'

Esposito chuckled, kissed her forehead. 'Not to worry, my little crackhead. We'll light you up like a Christmas tree.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	24. An Unusual Murder: 23 Weeks

'Esposito.'

'Hey, we caught one.'

'Okay, who's driving?'

'Me, I'll see you in twenty.'

'Right.' Esposito snapped his phone shut, gave Meredeth's head a kiss as he stood up from the couch. Their plan to go to the park for a picnic had been kiboshed with the miserable drip-drizzle of rain so they'd used the living room instead. 'Looks like our indoor picnic is going to have to wait.'

Tessi, who had Crush beside her on the floor where they'd spread out their blanket, pouted only a little. 'Go dash baddies, Daddy?'

'Yes, sweetie, I have to go catch some baddies.' He gave her a kiss, then went to change.

He was out the door, after Meredeth gave him one for good luck, and into Ryan's ride with his bag that included snacks he knew his boy would appreciate - fresh caprese sandwiches, with turkey on Esposito's, fresh veggies for crunching and of course Meredeth's red raspberry iced tea. They drove through the streets bitching back and forth about the weather and the Mets' bullpen in the way they did before going to a fresh scene until they made it to East Eighteenth Street to the corner building, when they pokered up and readied themselves. Since Lanie was still on mat-leave, they were both mentally praying they'd tagged Shane Weaver as their ME and not Perlmutter.

Esposito saw the uniform by the door, went over to get the first-on-scene's report. 'What do we have?'

'Victim is Annabeth Flannigan, age twenty-seven of this address. Super was going into the apartment to fix a faucet and found her...as she is.'

'As she is?' Ryan asked, pen paused on his notepad.

'Sir, it isn't exactly a...normal murder. I mean, not a simple GSW or something.'

Ryan and Esposito nodded, took the elevator to the fifth floor, and when they stepped into the apartment, both cops instantly understood why the uniform had made her comment.

Javier Esposito had been an NYPD cop for nearly twenty years and he'd never encountered something so grotesque in his life. He'd seen bodies bloated from the river, lovers hacked into ribbons by pissed-off exes, even some of the cases they'd caught since Castle had shown up were pretty grisly. But this one...this one topped them all.

Annabeth Flannigan was about thirty or so, but she had a round baby face that meant she probably still got carded when she went to the liquor store or a casino. She was dressed in what Meredeth would call at-home casual - jeans, loose t-shirt, bare feet, and was sprawled on her back on the day bed that probably doubled as a couch in the narrow cramped apartment with her face slashed in a Glasgow smile from ear to ear.

On the wall above the daybed the words 'Nosy Trout-Mouth Bitch' were written in blood.

'Have you ever seen something this brutal, Shane?' he asked the medical examiner who was standing by the foot of the bed and he shook his head.  
'No. Whoever did this had a lot of hate and a lot of planning.' Shane gestured with his pen at the woman's left arm. 'She's got puncture wounds in her inside elbow joint, consistent with the medical practice of drawing blood.'

'You sure it's not from the facial wounds, Shane?'

He nodded. 'A Glasgow smile's about the insult and the scarring, and will hurt like you want to die, but there aren't any major veins in the face to hit in order to get that kind of blood. Plus see how there's no drips from the daybed to the wall? Only way to do that is if you've got a syringe and vials or an IV bag like they use at blood donor clinic.'

'Okay, guys, check for any signs of robbery and the other usual suspects,' Ryan directed the uniforms.

Esposito nodded, then stepped forward while Ryan went over to the bureau to see if there was anything in one of the drwers. He stopped when he felt something near his right foot; glancing down he saw it was a shred of plastic and a quick bend down saw it was a smashed laptop.

'Got her computer here,' he said to anyone within ear distance. 'Hope the CSU guys brought their tweezers for bagging.. Shame too, looks like a nice one.'

They spent another twenty minutes scouring the apartment looking for any sign or clue of something that might lead them to the killer and felt their moods turn sour when there was virtually nothing at first glance to indicate their victim would be a target for anything warranting so sinister a death.

'You get anything?' Esposito asked, his nose in a wrinkle of frustration.

'The super says he saw Miss Flannigan yesterday morning and told her he had a few hours to spare today to look at her shower faucet, she said fine, see you then. He came with his tools to fix it, and found her like that, then got the hell out and called nine-one-one from the neighbour's place. What about you?'

'No recreational drugs in her bureau or bedside table and the only things in her medicine cabinet were the usual suspects of a fertile female - Midol, Advil, sinus tabs, and a prescription for birth control pills. There was no second toothbrush or soap to indicate she had a boyfriend or girlfriend, and there was nothing that appeared to be left behind by the killer.'

Ryan scratched his head. 'What about robbery?'

'Nuh-uh. Girl didn't have anything designer in her wardrobe worth knocking off, her TV and DVD player are all still there and that cabinet with the DVD collection is locked so unless the killer wanted to off her for some discs I don't think we'll find her missing anything there.'

'Yet they trashed the computer, which has to have some significance because everything else is undisturbed. In a very creepy way, I might add.'

'How you mean bro?'

'Well even the neatest person in the world has a few dust bunnies in a drawer somewhere. It was like this place is hermatically sealed. No dirty dishes, no papers or receipts or keys or loose change. It's weird.'

'Or maybe she was agoraphobic, you know, someone who didn't like the outside world.' Esposito looked around, began to look deeper. 'It might explain the disc collection. You can order them on-line and have them delivered to your door, and you can pay off your credit card via online banking. Same with takeout, clothes, cosmetics, prescriptions.'

'How would you work if you can't leave your house?'

'Easy.' One of the uniforms brought over an letter with a corporate looking letterhead. 'That's Ink and Paint's logo, my girl subscribes. They are a magazine that specializes in short fiction writing. It's very competitve and the people who get published are paid nicely.'

'Thanks Bertowski.'

'Dear Ms Flannnigan on behalf of Ink and Paint we would like to congratulate you on your contract extension. Please find enclosed the due dates for manuscripts you will be expected to proof and return. If you have not received said manuscripts by July thirtieth please contact Employment Services via email or during regular business hours at one-triple-eight-yada-yada-yada.' Esposito examined the letter, then handed it to a waiting CSU tech. 'See if our killer handled this one.'

They spent another hour on scene, talking to neighbours, looking for something, anything that would give them a hint as to where they should start. They discovered that their girl wasn't a total urban-hermit, as she had files indicating she was a volunteer three times a week at the Stuyvesant Memorial chemo clinic and her cellphone indicated she was definitely seeing someone named Luke G according to the Caller-ID information.

The nagging feeling of the smashed computer wouldn't let go in Esposito's brain so he let it resurface on the drive back to the precinct. The apartment had been organized so meticulously that it would give an OCD patient an embolism, meanwhile the computer's smashed into a thousand pieces. Since there was no evidence of other disturbance, the contents of the computer had to be the target so the question was would the CSU people be able to give them anything from the hard-drive?

When they arrived at the precinct, the standard run on Miss Annabeth Flannigan her father had died when she was twenty-one and her sister and mother both listed their home address as White-Plains.

'You gonna take this one?' Ryan asked as Esposito stared down his desk that phone call tha

'Yeah,' Esposito sighed. 'Could you grab me a latte? Double?'

'Sure.'

Ryan headed off, knowing it was easier to make that call independently without an audience. He focused his energy on making his partner and himself fancy coffees, but when he went back to his partner's desk mug in hand, Esposito's face was one of hurt and confusion as opposed to weariness that was usually there from making that phone call that changed everything.

'What's up?'

'That was weird,' Esposito replied, pointing to the phone. 'I talked to the mother, Geraldine, and when I told her I was calling about her daughter, she started freaking out that it was Stella, the other daughter but when I was calling about Annabeth, she shut down and treated it like I was a telemarketer.'

'People have grief hit them in different ways.'

'If I was calling about any of your kids, wouldn't you react in the same way, that you'd be inconsolable regardless?'

'Yeah, I see what you mean. Parents do tend to play favourites with kids whether they realize it or not.'

'I sincerely hope I don't end up like that. I mean, Missus Flannigan was ready to fall to pieces over the fact that the younger daughter, Stella, might be hurt, but when I said it was the older one, the firstborn Annabeth, she acted like I was selling her a new long-distance plan she didn't want.'

'Okay, now that's weird,' Ryan conceded. 'Maybe the Flannigans are part of the Irish Mafia and Annabeth's death was a casualty of war?'

'At this point anything's possible. Let's get a push on the warrants, see if we can maybe get something by five pm today from the banks or the phones, though it's likely we won't.'

'If we don't, where you want to start?'

'Her computer,' Esposito replied. 'That apartment was compulsively clean and her computer's smashed? That's a message.'

As expected, the phone companies and banks accepted their warrants but owing to the lateness of the day and the fact the next day was Sunday they would have no results until Monday so their only hope at this point was to pray the CSUs found something usable from the smashed laptop. The one glimmer of hope was that Shane was able to put a rush on the blood work and they had a preliminary tox report: their victim had been dosed with nitrazepam so there was some comfort in the knowledge that Annabeth wouldn't have felt a thing.

By the time they could call it a day, when what they had had been exhausted to the point of repetition, Esposito wanted to go home to his girls and his boy. He took the subway, as he wanted the walk and the fresh air to clear out such a weird and sad case from his mind before he saw them. He didn't want this one, with the bizarre reaction of Geraldine Flannigan, coming home with them.

He opened the door, and was greeted first by the dog, then his wife and daughter, who were in the living room where he'd left them, only the indoor picnic had been cleaned up and they were working on laundry. Meredeth's bump was big enough now it made its own little prop for her to fold his boxers her t-shirts.

'Hi Daddy!' Tessi said brightly as he put away his gun in the drawer. 'We follin' socks.'

'I see that.' He gave her curly dark head a kiss, then wrapped his arms around Meredeth from behind. 'Hello my love.'

'Hello my love back. Rough one?'

'Sad and weird one.' Esposito kiss her, stroked his hand over her belly where he felt his little girl and little boy moving around. 'Promise me we'll never play favourites amongst our kids.'

'Of course not.'

'Good.' He gave her another kiss, and tried to put it out of his mind now that he was home. 'Tessi, show me how you fold the socks.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	25. Intersecting Lives

'Bank records are coming through.'

Esposito looked up from his computer where he was reading the email from CSU at his partner. 'Excellent, CSU just said that the motherboard is fried but the hard-drive was undamaged enough to clone it and get some information.'

'Trade?'

'Hell yeah.' Esposito knew they all had their strengths as cops on the paperwork side and Ryan's was tech-speak; his happened to be financial documents which he blamed on his sister, since she was such a math whiz. He went to the printer to pick up the papers his partner had printed when he heard a rather loud exchange of words between Julian the receiving officer and an agited female voice.

'Ma'am, I'm sorry, you're going to have to wait.'

'Don't you tell me to wait, my sister was murdered, I need to see her, I need to speak to someone!'

As he was closest Esposito stepped over, papers in hand. 'Julian, everything okay?'

'Sir, this lady-'

'Doctor,' the woman corrected with a snap.

'This young doctor tells me she needs to speak with the people in charge of her sister's case.'

'Yes, her name is Annabeth Flannigan. I'm Doctor Stella Flannigan, her sister and my mother called me, said she was found dead on Saturday morning and I have spent the last twenty four hours getting connecting flights from Melbourne to New York so you better damn well have some answers for me.'

'Of course, Doctor Flannigan, I'm Detective Esposito, I'm one of the investigators on your sister's case. Please.' He gestured towards the lounge. 'Can I get you something to drink?'

'Coffee with a steaming side of what the hell you've done to find this murdering bastard.'

Esposito recognized the signs of someone dealing with shock well and walked her around the back way so she wouldn't see the murder board. No need to upset her further until necessary. He went over to Brewster, programmed it for two lattes, one decaf for the shaken woman. He gave her a few minutes to gather herself and when he turned around to pass her the hot mug, he saw Ryan had joined him.

'This is Detective Ryan, my partner, he's also investigating your sister's death with me, Ryan this is Doctor Flannigan, Miss Flannigan's sister. She's just landed from Australia after hearing the news.'

'I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Doctor.'

Stella looked at Ryan's sympathetic and friendly face, and felt the first crack. 'Where is she?'

'She's with the medical examiner, her autopsy has been completed and our medical examiner is set to release the body to your mother shortly.'

'She wasn't Annabeth's mother. Let's get the facts right. Our dad was married before and he got custody of Annabeth, and my mother always made a point of reminding her that she wasn't her child.' Stella sipped the latte. 'She tried to cut Annabeth out of her own inheritance but Dad's will was iron-clad, so she took the money and stayed in the city after she finished university.'

'Did your sister have any enemies?'

'No. She...she was the kind of person who wanted to be noticed and had such rock-bottom self-esteem she didn't think she was worth a lot. That kind of person doesn't make enemies.'

'What about her job, she having any problems there?'

Stella shook her head. 'She'd started working from home because of her medication.'

'Medication?'

'Nitrazepam. Annabeth had some anger issues after Dad died, and the nitrazepam was to help keep her in check. Part of her therapy was working in the chemo clinic, once a week, but she loved it so she upped it to three times a week and was also volunteering for their fundraiser committee. Her shrink thought it was good progress for her so he was reducing her dosage and that's why she started working from home so she could adjust to it without being a danger to herself in public.'

Ryan made a note in his file, then took out the photographs. 'Stella I need to show you some photographs, and they are disturbing-'

'Detective, I'm training as an orthopedic surgeon, I am literally a sawbones.'

He passed her the photographs, and Stella's eyes went flat before they filled. 'Is there anyone you can think of who would have reason to do this?'

'No. I'm sorry, I don't. Detectives, can you please make me a promise?'

'We'll try,' Esposito replied, anticipating the traditional request to get the killer; both he and Ryan were pleasantly surprised when she said, 'Please ask the ME to stitch her face up as carefully as possible. Annabeth's best beauty feature was her smile and I don't want to say goodbye to her looking like the Joker.'

'Of course, we'll let him know. Is there a local number we can reach you at?'

Stella gave them a number and left, giving each of them a handshake before getting on the elevator. Both detectives watched her go, catching the small shake of her shoulders just before the lift doors closed. The weight of the smothered grief on her shoulders settled with them as well.

'She's destroyed but she'll make it through.'

'Yeah. I'm, ah...I need to call Meredeth.' Esposito went to his desk, picked up his cellphone and dialed home; when there was no answer he tried her cell and she picked up on the second ring.

'Hey baby, did you miss me already?'

'Where are you?' he asked in a tone more accusatory than he meant. 'I tried you at home and there was no answer.'

'Oh, that, Jenny came to take Tessi shopping with her, Dell and Mallory for Dell's birthday part next week so I am grocery shopping with Kate. You want fish or steak for dinner tonight?'

'Actually, I was hoping for sweet potato and chicken soup.'

'Okay, we can do that too.' Meredeth knew this was her man's comfort food after a shitty day at work, so she wrote down the ingredients to add to the cart. 'I'm also guessing you'd like some chocolate walnut squishes to go with it?'

'I love you.'

'Love you too, Javi. Now you catch some baddies, as Tessi says.'

Meredeth closed the phone, then rubbed her belly. 'Yeah, we've got some treats to make for Daddy, don't we, bubs,' she told the belly, making Kate smile.

'I take it the guys have a rough one?'

'Yeah. I don't know how much I can actually tell you,' Meredeth said hesitantly. 'I know you're a cop and all, but it's an open investigation, right?'

'It's okay, Mere, we can talk about something else. Tell me about the nursery, have you guys settled the theme debate now you know it's a boy and a girl?'

'Yes, we're starting next week with decorating. Which reminds me, you know of an affordable hotel near the precinct? I need one next weekend.'

'Why?'

'We're painting the room and my husband doesn't want me around the fumes.'

'Just stay with me a few days. Alexis went for a week to California to see her mother. She's not home until next Monday so we've got the room.' Beckett smiled, picked up two jars of jam from the . 'Which one did you have on the list, low sugar or high fruit?'

'High fruit, there's more fibre from the strawberries.'

'What theme in the nursery?'

'The cosmos. Stars and suns and moons. The walls are going to be bright blue like Tessi's room and then we're going to stencil on constellations in bright yellow.'

'That's going to be adorable, and really easy to decorate for two. Who came up with that one, you or Espo?'

'Actually, it was Tessi's idea. We thought it would be a really good way to include her. I suppose it's a little different when your daughter is in her twenties, huh?'

'It is, but at the same time, she's very helpful and RJ adores her.'

'Tessi loves these guys, too.' Meredeth patted her belly which made her feel even bigger. 'Can we stop for a moment?'

'Sure, sure. Whatever you need.'

They took a break in the cereal aisle, where Beckett braced her weight against the shopping cart so Meredeth could lean without rolling away. She smiled at her friend, full of admiration how she was handling the twin pregnancy. Her own single baby, her precious RJ, had been hell enough on her body; she couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to have two growing inside. And life was stressful enough when you were married to a cop, and had kids with one. But in the time Beckett had known Meredeth, she'd never seen her once back down from a fight or a challenge. She might have faced it with tears or a laugh as only a woman could, but she faced it nonetheless.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and read the incoming text - _Katie, RJ and I are going to Dave's for a boys night. Have fun with Preggo McMuffin._ With a laugh, she pocketed the phone, then looked at Meredeth. 'My hubby is taking my son out for cards and brandy to Dave's tonight, so I'm yours as long as you need me.'

'In that case, you can watch me as I work on one of the family recipes.'

They made it back to Chelsea by lunchtime and after they were done a small snack of veggie-burritos and brown rice, Meredeth set to the task of getting her family's dinner ready as the soup needed time to simmer to taste its best. By three it was nicely simmering on low, just as Arturo began to bark and Beckett answered the front door to Honey-Milk, Dell and Tessi.

'Mami, we home! 'Mell soup!'

Meredeth wandered out from the kitchen, saw her little girl there with her backpack by her feet as she sat down and began to unfasten her Velcro-strap sandals. 'How is my shopping girl?'

'Tessi knows a lot of colours, Meredeth, she's so suh-mart,' Dell said with affectionate pride. 'She was a very big help getting things off the shelf with me and Mama and Marsh-Mallory.'

'Mush-Melly noisy, like Daddy,' Tessi informed her mother. 'Noisy seep-er.'

'Well, you are a noisy sleeper too, Tessi-boo, you snore.'

'I no 'nore. Dell, I no 'nore,' she told him and Dell wisely nodded with his mouth closed.

'Mama, may we duh-raw in the living room?'

'No, we have to get our things home.'

'Okay,' he said in a little pout, but listened to his mother. 'I see you at my birthday party, okay Tessi?'

'Birdie pardie! Sceam?'

'Yes we will have ice-cuh-ream.' He gave Tessi's cheek a little kiss, then gave Meredeth's tummy a little pat and kissed each side. 'You be good to my Meredeth and Tessi, babies.'

'Bye-bye Dell, see-soon.'

'Datie 'tay?' Tessi asked as Honey-Milk, Dell and Mallory left.

'Yes, I'm staying.' Beckett put her cell back in her pocket. 'I texted Espo, I'm going to have a little look at his case file when he gets home,' she explained to Meredeth.

'Yeah, this one has him and Ryan really scratching their heads, so have at it. I know I'm going to bed early tonight, after being active all day, I'm tired.' She paused. 'I'm not a suck for being so needy, am I?'

'Of course not, honey. You're growing two babies, your body's going through hell right now just trying to be normal. And like we've all told you, you're always there for us when we need you and you are there for us.' Beckett paused, knowing what she said next would make Meredeth burst into tears. 'If I could pick a sister, I'd chose you any day of the week and twice on Sunday.'

As she anticipated Meredeth began sniffling, then smothered a little smile when Tessi let go of her mother's hand and reached for the tissues on the table. 'No be sad, Mami, babies you be-have.'

'Acutally, Katie said something very nice to me that made me very happy and cry happy tears.'

Tessi leveled the detective with a protective look. 'Datie, you be-have.'

'You got it.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	26. Double Date Night

'Thank you, Mere, for being so understanding with this case. I love you.'

'You're welcome, Javi, it's what I do for my man and I love you too.'

They were sprawled in bed after a terribly long day; Esposito had been working almost around the clock in the last three days to find the son-of-a-bitch face slasher and this afternoon he and Ryan had finally gotten their man in custody and cracked him like an egg for breakfast. As a result of their hard work, Montgomery had given them the night off and Esposito had gone straight home to his beloved wife, where they'd made love in the afternoon sun while their daughter napped with her turtle in her bed.

Now, sated and satisfied, Meredeth lay spread eagled on her back with Esposito on his side beside her, head propped on one hand and stroking her belly while she studied the ceiling and the shadows coming in by the window. 'See, everyone should have that in the summer.'

'Good sex?'

'Yes, but more widely, a good reason to sweat.' She rolled her head to her left so she could see his beautiful face. 'So tell me again, how did you deduce it was Zach Rota?'

'We had his fingerprint in the blood, but that was the easy part, the hard part was figuring out the why. That's where my partner and I really had to scratch our brains.'

'Wait a tick, how did she even know Zach Rota?'

'They worked together at the chemo clinic, only he was going by the name Zane Rolston, since Zach Rota has a little sticky-fingers problem, in more ways than one now. But anyways, the real problem came from him overhearing a conversation with a producer of _Dallas, Lieutenant Eve,_ he's in for chemo treatment and of course Annabeth being the movie nut she is can't resist asking him about some things. He tells her stuff that's going to press that day, but of course, Zach has no way of knowing that.'

'Kind of like when I was talking to your physiotherapist after you were shot,' she reasoned.

'Yes, just like that. Only difference being, she doesn't know his history or that Zach overhears her saying she's going to email her sister and he assumes she's going to spill secrets from this producer she shouldn't know about. So he bides his time, gains her trust until she decides to invite him over after a shift of volunteering to watch the latest season on her TiVo, and while she's in the bathroom, he poured her a soft drink laced with her prescription pills, then proceeds to slice and dice and finger-paint.'

'Which explains the medical equipment, and also the smashed computer, but why would the man want to do something so vicious and nasty over a trivial thing?'

'Well, it turned out that Zach Rota was a PA on the set during season one. After the blowout between the show's creator and Gareth Mitchell when he was having problems and they cut him loose to get help, Gareth named Zach as the source of the leak for the season finale, which got Zach fired and unable to get work as a PA again since no one trusted him with his alleged blabbermouth.'

'And he thought Annabeth was going to do the same thing by telling her sister about meeting the producer. That is so very sad.' Meredeth sighed. 'How did the sister take the news?'

'It was hard but in the end, the answers no matter how ugly they are always offer comfort. I learned that one from Beckett.'

Esposito scrubbed a hand over his face, studied his bride in the dim light of afternoon. It was barely five, but since they'd been working overtime on this particular case and they had Zach Rota on a stone-cold slam dunk, Montgomery had cut them loose early. It felt good to be home during the daylight, and since he had the night free and clear, he decided to make the most of it with his wife.

'Get dressed.'

'Oh, because I'm so naked now?'

'Well, you could get naked...' Esposito rolled to his side, kissed the back of her neck. 'But...that's why.'

Tessi, having awoken from a late nap, came wandering in, knuckling still-sleepy eyes that popped wide when she saw her daddy home so early. 'Daddy! You home! Dash baddies today?' she asked, rushing over to greet him with a flying hug.

'Yes, princess, I got the baddies today.'

'Good shob, Daddy, feed birdies.'

Meredeth cracked up into a hysterical giggle-fit when Tessi promptly held out her pursed up little fingers to her father and Esposito tapped them with his own. 'Oh you are spending _way_ too much time with Dell Ryan, my love,' she giggled.

'I love Dell, he she-shell.'

'He's special alright. But in the 'special' theme, how would you like to go out for chicken and noodles tonight?'

'Yummy, yummy! An' soup?'

'And soup. Go to your room, I'll meet you in a moment.'

Meredeth watched her daughter scamper out of the room, then back at her man. 'Is this why I'm getting dressed?'

'Unless you want to go out for Chinese like that,' he said, pointing to her cotton pants and bra-less tank-top.

'Give me twenty minutes.'

* * *

Meredeth knew many parents had misgivings about taking toddlers into restaurants for a multitude of reasons - picky eaters, poor table manners, general fussiness. But she also knew many parents used dinners at their friends' houses for practice, and Tessi had lost her marbles once or twice with her grandparents or at the Ryan household, but she was getting bigger now, and she'd taken her responsibilities as a big sister to heart, determined to set a good 'sample' she'd told them in borrowing Dell Ryan's word.

Still it wasn't too hard for Tessi to stay behaved since she'd brought her 'purse' with her - the little backpack she toted with her everywhere that had a book, her drawing supplies and a juice-box in a Ziploc bag inside. Crush had to stay home, and Meredeth had felt her mother's heart soften like meringue when she told him that he had to be good while she was gone and it wouldn't be a long time, so he could play or read a story while he waited for her.

They opted for the Bamboo Garden, as it was a family buffet place for a reasonable price. Meredeth watched as Esposito helped Tessi pick out her chicken and noodles, along with some fresh veggies with dip that she loved so much. Her big bad cop, who just that afternoon sweated a hardened criminal down for a confession to murder in the first degree was now spooning his daughter's dinner onto her plate and listening with the same intensity as he had the perp's bragging over his crimes.

'Mama, I tie some yours?' Tessi asked, eying up the colourful veggies in sauce on Meredeth's plate. 'Look yummy.'

'Okay, princess.' She transferred a spoonful of teriyaki peppers and onions to the little girl's plate, briefly wonder if she should have her camera out to take a picture of her reaction to the taste.

Esposito watched his daughter, so determined to get the veggies onto her fork and munched them down,

'Funny feel,' she decided. 'Yummy. Feel funny.'

'In your tummy or your mouth?'

'Mout', Daddy. One more, Mami?' Tessi asked hopefully, and tried again with the next round. She chewed, swallowed and thought about it before shaking her head.

'No like funny feel.'

'Okay, Tessi-boo, the important thing is you tried them.'

'Want more shicken, peas.'

Esposito went to get up, but Meredeth waved him down. 'It's okay, I want to stretch my legs anyways.'

She held out her hand and Esposito watched them go to the buffet, Tessi walking in her side-to-side way as Meredeth steadied her belly with her hand. Half-way, he thought, they were over halfway there.

He smiled at his girls when they came back, Tessi's dark and curly little head bobbing along in front of Meredeth, the plate of chicken clutched hotly in her hands.

'Daddy, look! Shicken! I brr-ing,' she said proudly, soundly like an old-fashioned telephone. She eyed her father using the chopsticks for his noodles. 'What those?'

'These are chopsticks, this is what they use in China to eat their noodles.'

'Shop-ticks. Hard?'

'Easy to learn, hard to perfect,' he told her. 'I've had a lot of practice, so has Mami.'

'I try?'

'Sure. Here.' Esposito picked up two straws, put them in Tessi's left hand. 'Now make a pincer like a crab.'

'Dab, dab, dab. Like Bashin?'

'Like Sebastian, princess,' Meredeth agreed, then accepted the napkin from Esposito to daub at the corners of her eyes when they welled up at the tender fahter-daughter moment. 'Try and grab a piece of chicken.'

'Dab shicken.' Tessi martialed her powers of concentration and on her fourth try, got the bite of chicken from the plate to her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, then smiled. 'I like shop-tick shicken, Mami.'

Esposito had been using his phone to video the whole thing and grinned widely. 'I'm showing this to everyone at work tomorrow.'

* * *

Since Esposito had picked out Bamboo Garden for dinner, it was Meredeth's turn to pick the spot for dessert and she went with Roscoe's Sugar Shack as he knew she would. For the most part, Meredeth was a very healthy eater; even when they ate takeout, she always insisted on a salad of some kind to balance whatever they were eating. But she was powerless before ice cream and he'd learned early on with the twins that less than three different flavours in the house was worthy of death by spoon-stabbing.

Roscoe's was, in Meredeth's mind, a perfect example of a New York institution: it had been run by the McCarthy family since nineteen-twenty-two and featured not only twenty-two flavours but also hand-made cones - waffle, sugar, and regular - and sundaes and splits with house-made sauces. In recent years, they'd also added diabetic friendly flavours with sweeteners and skim milk; it was now a standard favourite of Dell Ryan.

Tessi held tight to her daddy's hand and tried to stretch to her toes to see. She tugged his hand impatiently, waited until he was finished speaking to Meredeth. 'Daddy, I see, peas?'

'Sure, up we go,' he said with a pleasant groan, settling her and her back-pack on his hip so she could see the flavours. 'What are you feeling, princess? Lots of chocolate like your pops or sweet and fruity like Mami?'

'I'unno yet. Lossa types.'

They stepped up to the counter and Meredeth ordered for herself the raspberry lemonade sherbet before going to sit down with her waffle bowl, and watched the counter attendant give Tessi little size spoons of different flavours before she tried one and nodded with a wide smile. Esposito pointed to a selection and Meredeth tried for a laugh instead of bursting into tears at the pure familial picture they made. Esposito set Tessi on her feet with her paper cup of ice cream and she held it like a bowl of liquid gold that might spill as she walked over to the table where her mother waited and then climbed onto her chair.

'What kind did you get, Tessi-boo?'

'Go-mel rib-bon. Shocolate an' darmel.'

'Gold Medal Ribbon is a good choice. What about Daddy?'

'Supa-Shocolate.'

Meredeth grinned at Esposito as he came over with his choice of frozen goodness. 'Super Chocolate in a chocolate dipped waffle bowl? Isn't that a little bit of overkill?'

'No such thing when it comes to chocolate.'

'Mami, you tie.' Tessi shoved her tot-sized portion towards Meredeth. 'I share wit' babies.'

'Thank you, princess.' Meredeth dipped her spoon in, took a small mouthful. 'That is tasty.'

'Daddy, you too.'

'It's okay, baby, but thanks for the offer.' Esposito licked the back of his spoon, gave his wife a little wink. He knew the look he was giving her would go right over Tessi's head and that it would make his wife's insides squish like a marshmallow. He watched the look on her face, then his daughter's and shook his head. 'You know, I think this is the best double-date I've ever been on.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	27. MiniBreak: 26 Weeks

'What time are they getting here?'

'Soon, Richard, stop worrying.'

'But what if they had car problems or Artie was-'

'It's fine.' Beckett cuddled the almost-sleeping RJ close on her chest when the red Nissan pulled into the driveway of the Hamptons' mansion. 'Look, see? There they are, all in one piece.'

'Alright, I give.' Castle walked off the porch to help Esposito with Meredeth's luggage. Since the men were going back to the city for the weekend to paint the nursery in the house, Meredeth and Tessi were staying in the main house with Beckett, Alexis and the baby. He knew his friend had put his foot down about Meredeth and Tessi being around paint fumes and Meredeth wasn't going to argue when she got to spend the weekend with her girls and Esposito had some time with his boys. They'd been taking such good care of each other and both knew they wanted just a little time with their friends to strengthen the bond even more, though Castle didn't know how that was possible when they had a solid-as-granite relationship to begin with.

Still he wasn't about to argue the inner workings of the Mere-Sposito machine and waved a friendly hello as Meredeth, already looking like she was going to burst as she opened the back passenger door to unbuckle Tessi from her car-seat.

'Here, Mere let me help,' he volunteered, disengaging the cute little girl from her safety harness.

'Gassy, Misser Dassell. You nice,' Tessi replied with such a charming smile that Castle prayed his next child with Beckett would be a daughter.

'C'mon, princess.' Castle put Tessi on his hip, carried her up to the porch to see Beckett and RJ. 'You remember this little guy, right?'

'That RJ, he nice too. Hi Datie.'

'Hi sweetie.' Beckett smiled at her, patted the space beside her as she held RJ in her arms while he had a nap. 'He's just having a little snooze right now.'

'I hafa 'nooze too. Set sample.'

Esposito had taken Meredeth's luggage up to the porch just in time to hear his little girl using her 'big sister' voice and grinned. 'You know it, so when Mami says it's nap time, you...'

'Lissen Mami.'

'Very good. You good to go, bro?' he asked Castle.

'Yep, ready to rock.'

The cops gave their writers and their babies kisses bye-bye, and when the boys were off back to the city in the Nissan, Meredeth plunked herself down in one of the big comfy deck chairs. 'Oh that feels nice,' she sighed on a laugh. 'Harvey said with multiples, you feel everything much sooner and sometimes a little more because of the extra weight.'

'How much weight have you put on this time around?' Beckett asked, shifting RJ when he stirred.

'About twenty-two pounds so far, my doctor wants me at twenty five by seven months. Not too hard when you want to eat everything that isn't nailed to the floor.'

'Mami, shhh, RJ 'noozin',' Tessi shushed her mother.

'Okay, bossy Tessi-boo, I think it's time for you to 'nooze too.'

'O-day, Mami. You boss, I lissen you.'

'That's my girl.'

'I'm going to put him down too, so why don't you come with me, Tessi?' Beckett stood up with RJ in her arms and Tessi following her into the house.

A few minutes later, Beckett returned with the baby monitor and a tray of cold drinks and snacks. 'We put a sleep cot for Tessi in the nursery with RJ so we can hear them both on the baby monitor.'

'Tessi would sleep in a cow pasture so long as she has Crush with her.'

'She's a good girl, Mere, you and Esposito have done an amazing job with her.'

'Thanks.' Meredeth took the glass of juice, scratched her head. 'I'm scared she'll think we don't care about her with two babies coming. Two will be very time consuming, trying to get them on a feeding schedule and a sleep schedule.'

'Not possible, she's going to be there front and centre helping you. She's modeling herself after Dell and Carey and Rosie, they love their babies too. What do you think you want for dinner?'

'Food,' Meredeth laughed. 'But I could go for some barbecue.'

'What about fried shrimp po-boys and chips and coleslaw?' Beckett knew her friend's food weaknesses well as she saw the glazed, drooly look on her face usually reserved for her husband. 'I'll call The Lagoon, get us a table for tonight.'

'You're a saint, Kate.'

'And then, tomorrow, there's a little surprise coming here. Not to give anything away but you will want to adopt me by the end of the day.'

'Are you kidding me? You're taking me and Tessi out for dinner for seafood. Give me the papers now.' Meredeth sipped her juice again, narrowed her eyes. 'Are we having a spa day, Katie-Lou?'

'Why gotta ruin my fun?' she laughed, tucking her feet up underneath her. 'And Lanie is joining us for a mommy's-day-out. She wants to get her nails and toes and everything done before she goes back to work on Monday.'

'Sounds like a plan.'

'Now, tell me about the nursery, and how much teasing I'll get to give Castle when we're home on Sunday night.'

* * *

As the girls sat on the porch and talked mommy shop-talk, the boys were on their way back to the city doing essentially the same thing in the car.

'What about Brendan and Sarah?' he suggested. 'They mean prince and princess.'

'It's an idea, but I want me own term of endearment for the new little girl.'

'Fair enough. What about for a boy?'

'Meredeth and I really like Maximilian, Alejo and Antonio.'

'Why Max?'

Esposito glanced over his shoulder to change lanes on the expressway. 'Max was Mere's grandfather, Constance's husband.'

'Oh. She never talks about him much,' Castle realized. 'It was always about her grandmother.'

'Well Max died shortly after her mother. He never really recovered from losing Freja, so for the most part it was Meredeth and Constance on her own. She misses her, a lot.' Esposito sighed, shook his head. 'I see it so much now that Meredeth's pregnant with twins, those family memories are flooding back. More than anything, that's what gets her waterworks going.'

'Maybe then you should name the babies Max and Freja,' Castle suggested, only to have Esposito shake his head again.

'Lili already used Freja as Rosie's middle name, so...Jesus, I sound like Meredeth.'

'You sound like a who loves his wife and wants to make her happy the way she makes you happy. What are you getting her for your anniversary?'

'You're going to think I've lost my mind.'

'There is very little that surprises me anymore after being married to a cop like Kate Beckett.'

Esposito fidgeted a little in his seat. 'I got her Central Air for the house, so she won't spend all of August and September sweating like a pig. I know she's been wanting a portable Blu-Ray to take into the hospital with her for when she's in labour but I think she's going to like this better.' He paused, waiting expectantly. 'Alright, let me have it.'

'I think that you love your wife very much, and know what she will need but not expect. It's a great gift.'

'It's part of the reason I wanted her out of the house this weekend, too. Not just the paint in the nursery but the guys are coming this weekend.'

'Man you are making the rest of us look like bad husbands,' Castle laughed. 'So not cool.'

* * *

On Sunday evening, Meredeth and Tessi arrived home in Chelsea much to Esposito's delight. He didn't like the feeling of his bed so empty two nights in a row and it made him wonder how he'd survived three weeks Meredeth had spent in Japan for work just before they were engaged. He was at the door and opening it, laughing when Tessi rushed into his arms, inadvertantly bopping him with Crush.

'There's my girls, you have a good weekend with Auntie Katie and Auntie Lanie?'

'Uh-huh, look! Lindy, Daddy,' Tessi told him, holding up her hand so he could see her baby pink painted nails as she chattered.

'_Que linda_ is right, princess.'

'We go simming, too, and eat shimps!'

Esposito gasped dramatically, the way any parent did to share their child's enthusiasm. 'You ate shrimp? How did you like it?'

'Dunshy.'

'Crunchy shrimp are tasty. Why don't you go put Crush and your back-pack upstairs?'

'O-day.'

Meredeth walked through the door, Beckett dropping her luggage behind her and gave them a jaunty bye-bye as the expectant mother sniffed, looked around. 'There's something different but I don't know what.'

'Come over here.' Esposito took her hand, dragged her to the wall by the laundry room under the stairs. 'Happy anniversary. Check it out.'

She studied the little panel and realized what he'd done; she turned to him and gave him a fat, smacking kiss. 'You got me Central Air? Oh, you are so good to me, Javi, I am definitely going to love this, especially given they're saying August and September are going to be way above normal temperatures. Thank you so much.'

'And now the truly awesome work of the weekend.'

They went upstairs to the room between Tessi's and their own and Esposito dramatically opened the door, and Meredeth dropped his hand to press both of hers to her mouth.

The room was a soft tropical blue, almost the same as Tessi's but this had a much different feel to it, for instead of bright tropical fish chasing each other around the top of the walls, they were covered in various sized stars of banana-creme yellow that formed the real pattern of constellations from all parts of the world like the Southern Cross, the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia and of course Gemini the twins. The crib was against the wall with yellow sheets with glow-in-the-dark stars on them, along with the other blue chair that matched the one in Tessi's room and a beautiful gliding rocker that was decorated with cushions of suns, moons and clouds. Like in Tessi's room as well, one long counter served as catch-all and changing station; on the wall above it was a picture frame of Tessi kissing Meredeth's belly while Esposito watched and on its matting was a little phrase from one of Meredeth's favourite childhood books:_ Little children are the sun, the moon and the stars_._  
_

'Oh, Javi. It's perfect,' Meredeth sighed, looking at everything. 'Just perfect, our babies are going to love it here.'

'Kristof helped with the stenciling of the fancy work.'

'I figured as much.'

'And I dug out the other chair from storage so that we wouldn't have to move the one from Tessi's room in here. She loves reading in her chair.'

'Everything is just absolutely exactly how I wanted it for our babies. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this,' she said excitedly, then became pensive as she looked around the room while he hugged her from behind. 'Javi, I've been thinking.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah, about the babies' names.'

'Uh-huh.'

'I keep thinking about how our friends have been nothing but awesome to us and I feel like we should honour that with the babies' names.'

Esposito kept his arms around Meredeth. 'What did you have in mind?'

She told him her idea for their little boy and he nodded. 'I think that's beautiful. Does that mean I get to name the little girl?'

'You betcha. What are you feeling is a worthy tribute?'

Esposito thought about it and then told her which also had Meredeth nodded her approval. 'You like?'

'I love them both. Hear that you two?' She poked the belly where the girl twin was asleep and the boy twin was wide awake. 'We've got your names all picked out for you. You will love them.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	28. Detective on the Edge: 29 Weeks

On Wednesday morning, Ryan and Esposito rolled up to the alleyway where their latest victim, one Yassir Kumarenko, and got a pleasant surprise. When they'd tagged the homicide they were anticipating seeing Shave Weaver or Pearlmutter. Instead it was their favourite lady-doctor, still in her stylish flats but back on the job and giving a uniform hell in her unique style.

'Gary, when I say back up, I mean take yourself elsewhere so you don't sweat all over my dead guy,' Lanie said acerbically, then squinted from behind her sunglasses when she saw the men approaching. 'Hey it's my favourite two-headed monster.'

'Hey, look who's back!' Ryan said cheerfully. 'Who called it in?'

'Dumpster guys emptying those industrial bins,' Officer Gary informed them. 'They came to do their thing, found Comrade Kumarenko sprawled out and they called the cops to deal with it.'

'They touch him at all?' Ryan asked; Lanie shook her head.

'The area's popular for underground poker games and they said it wasn't the first time they called the cops on a passed-out drunk in the morning.'

'A Russian in the neighbourhood of underground poker games, that sounds like mafia to me,' Esposito said. 'He carrying?'

Officer Gary shook his head, but Lanie chimed in with her own observations. 'He's still got his wallet, and he's got some ink on his knuckles and his wrist. I'll take some photos once I get him checked in, see if they're the OCIM database. We'll know what's what soon enough.'

She stood up, made a few notes on her clipboard. 'Not long is it, Detective?'

'Two months,' Esposito agreed.

'You nervous?'

'No more than the last time.'

'Good. My first day off, I'm hijacking your wife for that spa day.' Lanie smiled, flashing white teeth. 'Dave will be sending the kids to Jayla's for the night.'

'Why?' Ryan took a moment, stared at the eight-am sky. 'Why was I cursed with friends who can't keep it in their pants?'

'Excuse me, but who's the one who got his wife pregnant in a bathroom at a Hallowe'en party?' Lanie reminded him, and since Ryan had no response, she nodded, satisfied with her small victory. 'I'll get him back, start his work-up.'

'Thanks Lanie. Oh, and need I remind you that you also got pregnant in a bathroom as well?' Esposito pointed out. '_My _bathroom while you were house-sitting for my wife and I, so we'll leave the baby conceptions out of it.'

'Deal. I'll let you know something when there's something to know.'

Lanie left with the OCME people while Ryan and Esposito exchanged looks. 'Wake-up sex,' they chorused and bumping knuckles, set about doing their job.

* * *

By three that afternoon, after a day of pounding the pavement and shaking the trees, Esposito and Ryan had enough on their Russian mobster to hand it over to a higher authority. Since the last thing either of them wanted was to get tangled up in a task-force on organized crime, they were more than happy to do so and be left with handling a backlog of paperwork until a fresh body dropped. It suited Esposito just fine, as Meredeth had been ordered onto bed-rest once more by Harvey for a week so he knew at the end of his day he was looking forward to going home to her on time.

He came out of the men's room to find his partner on the phone with his son; it was quite obvious from the tone of his voice.

'How'd you do with your needle...that's great, I'm so proud of you...really, what are you going to take...okay well we'll find something when I get home tonight...I gotta go...I love you too.'

Ryan hung up, turned to his computer. 'You'll be going through that too, you know,' he told his partner, whom he knew was hovering by his desk. 'Three times.'

'You'll do it twice.'

'Nope, Mal's getting home schooled. There are boys at school and I'm not letting my daughter near any of those nasty things.'

'But it's perfectly fine for my daughter to be around Don Juan Dell,' Esposito laughed. 'All seriousness, how's he liking school so far?'

'He's Dell, he fits in wherever he goes.'

The elevator dinged and Ryan looked over his shoulder, grinned. 'Well, well, look who it is, the Master of the Macabre himself and the Little Master.'

'Kate is spending the day with Meredeth, so we thought we'd pay a visit.' Castle walked up with RJ in his Snuggly-Go. 'Can you say hi, RJ?'

'Hi.' RJ waved at Ryan and Esposito brightly. 'Hi.'

'Hey, listen to you, little bro, talking already,' Esposito said with a warm smile. 'Can you say Esposito?'

'Pito.'

'Can you say Ryan?'

'Wyn.'

'Good job, RJ.' Castle leaned forward, kissed his son's fuzzy head. 'Mommy will be so proud of you.'

'Hey, there's our next rookie of the year.' Montgomery walked out of his office, gave Castle a slap on the back. 'How's the boy?'

'Good. He started talking about a week ago, just before Alexis left. He calls her Less. RJ, can you say Montgomery?'

'Dummy.'

'Close enough, since that's what Liz calls me on a bad day,' the captain laughed. 'How's Meredeth doing, Esposito?'

'Good, she's on bed-rest right now, taking care of herself.'

'Glad to hear it. Just wanted to come by, let you know the guys up in the OC bureau send their thanks for your work this morning, though to be honest it doesn't seem like your style to pass it off so quickly.'

'Sir, all due respect, we both remember what happened with the Doran case a few years back and we have no desire to go through that again,' Ryan explained; it was the truth and Montgomery understood it as such as well when he pursed his lips, nodded.

'Either way, good work, gentlemen.'

'So are you here to show off RJ's vocab or did you have another reason?' Ryan asked Castle, who was playing with RJ's waving hands.

'Cards tonight, my place. You in?'

Esposito felt a pang of guilt. 'Oh, I don't know, Mere's-'

'Jenny's taking Dell and Mal to your place for a visit, in fact they're probably on their way right now,' Ryan interjected, looking at his watch.

'And I'm guessing you could use the break too.' Castle held up a hand when Esposito opened his mouth again. 'You are allowed to have Meredeth-free nights, you know.'

At this Esposito bristled. 'It's not a matter of permission, it's a matter of being a good husband. My wife is having twins, in case you forgot, she's on bed-rest and I've been at work for nine days straight with some overtime thrown in for good measure. What?' he said in an exasperated tone as the other men exchanged looks.

'Nothing, Detective, just glad to see even Cool Hand Javi can get so flipped out over his baby-mama,' Montgomery said, trying to disguise the laugh. 'I'll see you tonight.'

Esposito watched his captain retreat, then went to the break room, with his phone in hand. No need to make it look like he was completely whipped by calling Meredeth in front of them. She picked up on the fourth ring and sounded both sleepy and cranky.

'Hello.'

'Hey, baby, it's me, how you feeling?'

'Fat, disgusting, miserable and hungry. Looking forward to seeing you a little while.'

'About that, Castle's having cards tonight.'

'And, what? You think you need my permission to go?'

Esposito blinked, heard the rustle of sheets as he could tell she was moving around. 'No?' he replied uncertainly and felt oceans of relief when he heard her laugh.

'Javi, I love you very very much and I know you need your boys nights away from your incredibly maxed out, horribly hormonal wife, no matter how much you love me back. Go have fun with your friends, Jenny, Dell and Mal are coming over for dinner tonight and staying for a little visit. I'll be fine.'

'You sure?'

He knew the instant it was out of his mouth it was a mistake because her tone changed in a hearbeat. 'Javier Jimeno, stop hovering,' she told him sternly, then went back to her sweet self. 'I love you.'

'Love you too, baby.'

He hung up, then sighed as he marched over to Brewster and began to make espresso for a double latte. 'What do you two want?'

From the doorway, Ryan and Castle traded amused looks and a ten; it was the detective who spoke first. 'So you in?'

'Yeah, I'm in.'

* * *

'Ola, anyone home?'

'Upstairs!'

Esposito smiled as he went to the second floor, saw his girls tucked into the big queen-sized bed with the DVD player between them. Poker night had been great - it wasn't until he was sitting around the poker table at Castle's loft with the man himself, Ryan, Montgomery and Gil Mazzara that he realized how on edge he was about his wife. He was devoted to her, no one would question that, but he hadn't noticed just how much like his partner he'd become this time around with his wife pregnant. So he'd had a few beers, talked about anything but babies and came home four-hundred flush to his beautiful girls.

Tessi was somehow still awake, just on the verge of sleep and waved at her daddy when he walked in. 'Hi Daddy, you win dards to-night?'

'I did win tonight, princess. What are you and Mami up to?'

'Washin' sharp fishies.'

'We borrowed your _Shark Week_ DVDs, she likes the water,' Meredeth told him, then kissed her daughter's forehead. 'Okay, Tessi-boo, you know the deal, you got to stay up until Daddy was home, now it's bed time.'

'No. No' seepy,' she protested, even as she yawned.

'That may be but it's time for you to go to your own bed so I can go to sleep,' Esposito told her, picking her up; he wasn't at all surprised when she began to snore on his shoulder before he'd even left the master bedroom.

With Tessi tucked in, Esposito went back to his own room and began to change out of his clothes while Meredeth watched him with tired eyes. 'How was your night, babe?' he asked, not at all surprised when she began to cry hot, frustrated tears.

'I'm so sick of being stuck in bed, Javi, I don't mind the resting part when I can be downstairs on the couch because I can play Wii or something, or I can be sitting at the table writing, you know? Here, I just feel like some massive pregnant beast and I'm just fed up with it!'

He wanted to say 'I know' but since he had no experience carrying twins, or any child, he knew it was a quick way to earn a night on the couch. 'What can I do?'

'I don't know what I want. Actually, I do, I want our babies here. I want them in my arms, not my uterus.'

'They'll be here soon. Six weeks to go, my love.'

'And to make it even worse, somehow my sex drive has been kicked up even _more_ now. It's...' Meredeth searched for the word and came up with a snarl. 'I just want you to fuck me senseless, Javi, seriously, just drill me a good one, but you can't.'

'Harvey said being intimate while you're on bed-rest is fine.'

'I'm not talking about what we did in the shower this morning before you went to work, I'm talking the hot, dirty nasty stuff we did on our honey-moon. Remember the park in Christchurch?'

He did, very well, and had thought of it when he needed to poke the bear before going to sleep when Meredeth wasn't at home for whatever reason. 'Okay, tell you what, tomorrow morning you're off bed-rest orders, right?'

'Yes.'

'You are going to get the mother of all wake-up boning. Deal?'

'Deal.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	29. Roll Them Bones

Meredeth awoke the next morning to the scent of coconut. It was like a siren song to her and she could feel her blood begin to move around a little quicker before she was even awake.

Then there was the touch. Her husband's hands on her shoulders, her bare back, down to her hips and across her enormous belly up to her breasts where they rested, squeezing gently. His thumb brushed over her nipple and she inhaled sharply, loving the way her body responded so quickly to him.

'Good morning,' she murmured to him, and turning, saw the look on his face; her nerves sizzled as he gave her a slow wink, laid his lips on her shoulder.

'It will be.'

Esposito shifted her so she lay on her back and he beside her, take her face in his hands and kissing her deeply, his tongue tracing the shape of her lips before finding hers. She was his beautiful Meredeth, his Danish angel. He'd stopped asking what he'd done to deserve her long ago, and just loved and enjoyed the gift of her in his life. His hand slid down to cup her tender swollen breast, his thumb scraping over her nipple.

He was so sweet to her, Meredeth thought as her skin began to heat. And she...she had been a horrible hormonal bitch for the last seven months. Thinking about how awful she'd been to him had her giving off a small shudder.

'Mere? What is it, baby?'

'I don't deserve this,' she murmured to him, fighting the urge to cry.

'What?'

'I've been such a temperamental banshee while I've been pregnant,' she started and was cut off when he held a finger to her lips.

'I love you Mere, and yes you've been a little more hormonal than with Tessi, but you've got two babies growing in here. It's okay.'

'Okay. I'm sorry I ruined the mood.'

Esposito just looked at her, took her hand and slipped it between there bodies. 'Feel that? Does look like you've ruined a damn thing.'

'Oh...my...' Sadness vaporized instantly, at the feel of him at full attention, because of her Meredeth realized. She was seven months pregnant with twins and had never felt more unsexy in her life, and her husband still wanted to bang her brains out. She smiled at him, turning it from softly demure to sultry in the blink of an eye as she closed her hand over his and brought it back to her breast, pressed her lips against his. 'I love you, my sexy Puerto-Rican cop.'

'I love you right back, my sexy Danish writer.'

Esposito covered her mouth again with his, but this time it wasn't a gentle and soft wake-up, it was heated and wanting, the kind of reassurance he knew she needed so late in the game of her pregnancy. He pressed his hand between her shoulder-blades as he lowered his mouth to her breast and suckled at her, laving her pebble-like nipple with his tongue; the cry she gave off was pleasured and sweet. He let his mouth roam over her, tasting as much of that creamy soft skin as he could manage to find. Her fluid stream of Danish tumbling from her lips told him he was right on target.

With gently but firm nudging Esposito helped her move so she was turned towards the edge of the bed and he knelt on the floor, kissing his way up the inside of her leg until he reached the juncture of her thighs, and sighing in deep pleasure, laved at her, teasing her viciously so that she cried out loudly for him, telling him not to stop he was a god, how much she loved how he made her feel. Even after having seen Tessi fight her way out of her mother's womb and knowing that he would see two more of his children be pushed from the same place wasn't a strong enough deterrent to him when he heard his gorgeous wife whimper in sexual delight as he used his mouth on her like this, not when she began to come and he felt her shudder.

'Javier,' she moaned, out of breath as she felt the tremors of orgasm start to subside. 'I want...I...'

'What is it, my love, tell me what you need.'

'What I said...last night. You remember?'

Esposito nodded, climbed back on the bed. 'Turn over, on your knees.'

Meredeth did so, and felt her husband put a pillow against her belly so it was both supported and cushioned as she braced her palms on the bed. She let out her trademark 'oh!' when she felt her husband slide into her from behind. 'So big, baby,' she sighed as he began to move inside her. It was hard for her to move her hips with his and when she tried to, she felt him slow and lean forward, whispering to her, 'Let me do this for you, Mere,' so she gave in and let him work his magic on her. Meredeth instead made up for it by letting every dirty thought and word that passed through her brain escape her lips and the more she spoke, the quicker his pace was until the words began to blur together and she was reduce to calling out his name in long, throat tones heavy with lust.

Esposito felt her clench around him, shuddering at the orgasm and it wasn't long before he followed her over, the feel of his beautiful Meredeth under his hands and her name on his lips as he came.

He flopped over on his side, facing his wife who was grinning from ear to ear with her eyes closed as she breathed heavily. 'That,' she managed, her lips sticking to her pillow a little bit, 'was exactly it. I love you so much baby.'

'I love you too, babe.'

'Even if-oof! Oh, hey you, in there, it wasn't him!'

'What?' Esposito laughed as she massaged her belly.

'Our little girl's beating on her brother, and now they're both kicking away at me.'

He smiled, reached out his hand to stroke her rippling belly. 'Hello in there, it's Daddy, you two, play nice.'

'They say, okay Daddy, but where is the other short girl, the bossy one?'

'She's still in bed, but Mami and I might have woken her up,' he laughed. 'And to be on the safe side, we're going to put on some clothes in case she comes in for a morning snuggle herself.'

Esposito sprang up out of bed and tugged on a pair of boxers, then quick as lightening, turned around with his cellphone and snapped a picture of Meredeth naked and sexy in bed. He'd closed the app and tossed her the loose faux-satin nightie before she could even squawk and not a moment too soon - the moment she'd tugged the slippery coral fabric over her head, the doorknob turned and Tessi came in, knuckling her eyes and dragging Crush with her.

'Mo-nin, ev-ee-body,' she yawned. 'How my babies?'

'They are very much alive and kicking, sweetheart, you want to come feel?' Meredeth patted her belly in invitation, not at all surprised when Tessi climbed up and dropped Crush on the mattress like a hot coal in favour of touching her mother's pregnant stomach.

'Oh, Shello movin' lots,' she gasped in surprise. 'Wha' 'bout bo?'

'Here.' Esposito came over, moved his daughter's hands around. 'How about that?'

'Po-kee movin' too.'

'Yeah, Porky's moving around a lot too.'

Tessi studied her mother's belly, furrowed her brow. 'Mami, how babies inside?'

'How did the babies get inside?'

'Uh-huh.'

'Well, when a mommy and daddy love each other like yours do, all that love makes a baby grow inside of Mami, and sometimes when they're really lucky, they two at once like this.'

'I jus' me. I pishal.'

'You are very special, you are the first baby Mami and Daddy ever had,' Esposito told her, and felt his heart brim with fatherly pride when his daughter gave him a hug around the middle.

'I love Daddy, he best. And Mami, she best too.'

'Aw, thanks princess.' Esposito heard his cellphone go off on his bureau, picked it up. 'Esposito. Yes. Okay, great Lanie, thanks. We'll be there shortly. Lanie's got autopsy results for us from the end of yesterday.'

'We have dakes?'

'Sure, baby.' Meredeth stretched upwards, rubbed her stomach where she could feel hunger pangs starting. 'Or would you like waffles?'

Tessi picked up her Crush, held him to her ear, then nodded. 'Dush say waffo.'

'Okay. Let's go make some quickly so Daddy can eat before Ryan gets here.'

'I'm picking him up, so we'll have to make it toast to go, my queen.'

'Tessi, you head downstairs, okay?'

When their daughter had left the room, Meredeth pulled Esposito in for a steaming kiss. 'Best. Wake-up. Sex. Ever. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

* * *

Despite the fact it was just shy of eight in the morning, Esposito walked into the morgue with Ryan in an energetic mood. The doctor was in her scrubs and had her long black hair tied off of her face, one ear-bud in as she was finishing up some stitches on the body he and Ryan had caught earlier in the week. 'Morning, Lanie,' he offered her with a grin.

'Oh, please save the wake-up sex cheeriness for someone who hasn't been on night shift,' she replied. 'I just wanna be on my way home to my babies and Dave.'

'How is Violet handling her mama back at work?' Ryan asked.

'She's getting used to it, but it helps that Daddy's home with her. She loves when he reads to her and Carey, she's trying to mimic his reading.'

'That's so sweet. What about our mystery lady here?'

'Finally got you an ID along with some pertinent information.' Lanie set her tools down, pulled out her earbuds. 'Pamela Gifford, age forty-six. She's a researcher at Rockefeller University, drives an oh-nine silver Prius, married twenty-one years to Howard Gifford and has three children ages eighteen, fourteen, and twelve.'

'You got all that from a finger print scan?' Esposito asked incredulously.

'Employee files at Rockefeller. She had traces of benzine, chlorine, and polyethylene under her fingernails, all used in bio-hazard and waste management research, so on a hunch I had CSU run the research programs at Rockefeller.

'Why Rockefeller?'

'It's the only research university with government contracts in the city and they'd have the most detailed information since she'd need government clearance complete with background checks to work in the lab, even if it's not a government related job.'

'Thanks, Lanie.' Esposito took the file she passed him, then answered his cellphone that was beeping away with Meredeth's ringtone. 'Hi, baby, miss me already?'

'Of course, they want more cuddle time with Daddy. So does Mami, for that matter.'

'Funny girl.'

'Listen I'm on my way to the hospital-'

Esposito's heart leaped into his mouth when he heard the words. 'Mere, what's wrong, what happened?'

'Nothing, I'm fine, baby. Lili called, Cam's got an inflamed appendix so I'm on my way to GW Memorial with her to help look after the kids while he has an emergency appendectomy.'

'Oh, that's it? You're okay?'

'Yes, and so is Tessi. Not to worry, Daddy, you're not getting that call yet. I wanted to let you know so if you phone home to check on me, Tessi and I are with Lili so call my cell.'

'Thanks, babe, tell Lili and Cam I'll be over as soon as I can after work. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Everything okay?' Ryan asked, worried when he heard the tone in his partner's voice.

'Cam's having his appendix out, so she's on her way to the hospital with Lili to help her keep an eye on the kids.'

'Nothing to do with the babies?'

Esposito shook his head and both Lanie and Ryan blew out a relieved breath. 'Good,' Lanie told him firmly. 'She better hold them in until October twenty-four.'

'No, Lanie, the twenty-eighth,' Ryan corrected her. 'Then, for once, I'll win the baby pool.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy!


	30. Mami's Lunch Out: 32 Weeks

'Oooh, Mami fancy.'

Tessi made the observation from the living room where she sat, ready and waiting to go to the park with her puppy and her daddy as Meredeth came down the stairs in the best suit wear she could find for being a full thirty-two weeks pregnant. The cotton-silk blend of the tunic was like heaven for her skin and the sandals were a present from Lanie; she'd worn the same brand when she was pregnant both times.

'You like, princess?'

'Way fancy.'

'Javi?'

Esposito, who'd been helping Tessi put on her sneakers, glanced up and gave her a wolf whistle. 'You're one hot mama, Mere.'

'Thanks, you guys. I know Robina's excited to see me, I just hope I don't pop over salads during our business meeting.'

'You'll be fine. Okay, Tessi-boo, we are ready for the stroll in the stroller.'

'Aah-tie domin' too?'

'Of course. We're walking Mami to the subway so she can meet Robina for lunch and then you and I are spending the day with Artie in the park.'

'Yea!'

A few minutes later the family was off and at the end of the street, they kissed Meredeth good-bye where she boarded the train to meet Robina up near Times Square. Robina had called her up for lunch as much for talking to her friend as for updating her client. When she reached the pub, Meredeth was shown to the patio table; Robina was on her phone using her mommy voice.

'Okay, you stay in bed, lots of fluids. Get Daddy to make you some tea, and don't get too snappy with Kelley, okay, she's little. Love you too, baby, I'll be home soon.'

'How many of your clients ever hear that side of you?' Meredeth asked, supporting her belly from the bottom.

Robina looked up and grinned. 'Hey Mere-Bear! Sit, sit, you look like one of those big-rig haulers going to tip over on its nose. What do you want to drink?'

'A glass of water, a cup of decaf tea with lemon and a Coke with lots of ice.'

'You get all that?' she asked the waiter who had approached their table. 'We'll both have the spinach and summer fruit salad, that has no raw eggs or cheese in it?'

'No ma'am, it is spinach, strawberries, honey-dew melon, almonds and a poppy-seed vinaigrette.'

'Excellent, and we'll order our entrees in a little bit.'

The waiter hurried off - he knew Robina was a regular there and to make her wait was to risk a hefty tip - leaving the girls to talk shop. Robina stirred her lunchtime Gibson martini with the spear of onions, smiled. 'You're not gonna drop a pair of shorties between drinks and appetizers are you?'

'No, I've still got until Hallowe'en.'

'Gil's said he prays you make it to October twenty-fifth.'

'Really?' Meredeth leaned back for the waiter to give her the trio of beverages she's ordered, zeroed in on the water, then the tea. 'I thought the baby-pool was Homicide only.'

'Yeah, Gil wormed his way in, and I'm hoping my hubby wins that cash so we can go on a cruise at New Year's with the kids.'

'Listen to you, _Missus_ Mazzara, talking about your hubby and family trips.' Meredeth shook her head. 'To think the first time you met him, you couldn't even stand to be in the same room as him.'

'And when you met Javier, you were so scared of being involved with another person you hadn't had a boyfriend in six years.'

'Yet here we are, married and remarried with our own babies.'

'Which reminds me, I have a little something for you.' Robina reached into her bag, pulled out a pair of carved boxes. 'Gil's father makes these. He made one for Kelley when she was born, and the one I gave to you and Tessi when she came along, and now the twins will have their own too.'

Meredeth smiled, fingered the inlay of the woodwork, lifted the lid to smell the inside. 'Cedar,' she murmured. 'My grandfather, Max, he had this cedar jewelery box and I used to think it was the strangest thing for a boy to have a jewelery box. Of course, I later learned, it was for things like tie clips and rings and cuff-links. Now I can tell my babies, all of them, they have boxes like their _oldefar_ did.'

'Good gift?'

'The best.'

Robina smiled, then picked up her menu to divert Meredeth away from tears; it seemed the girl's hormones popped up in her eyes this time around and distracting her with food or sex was the way to keep her from fountaining. Since she'd leave the second option to Esposito, she perused the menu as a prop, though she knew it by heart. 'They made a killer Thai-fusion pasta here.'

'Do they?'

'Mm. Angel-hair pasta with green onions, sesame seeds, red peppers, and chicken in a sweet chili sauce.'

'That sounds yummy, I think I'll have that.'

Robina nodded, then gave the waiter their entree orders as he brought their salads over, served fresh cheese and pepper table-side. She waited until he left before switching to business mode. 'Thought I'd tell you, the network website for the miniseries has crashed three times, all after the repeat airings of the original series from two years ago.'

'Yeah, my Twitter's been going berserk, I keep tweeting to everyone I'm sorry I've been so lazy about talking about it, but I'm a little busy growing two babies and caring for a two and a half year old at the moment.'

'Oh, they understand and the forum fans have been taking anyone who rips on you down a peg or two.'

'That's so sweet.'

'There's even a whole thread on the CBS main page called The Name Game and what they want you to name your babies.'

Meredeth laughed around a mouthful of spinach and fruit. 'Seriously?'

'The most creative one I saw was Destiny Sunrise and Stormy Ocean Esposito,' Robina giggled. 'Totally ludicrous, right?'

'What others were there?'

'Actually, some were quite pretty, let's see there was Tabitha Angelique and Joshua Antonio, Juanita Bernadette and Jonathan Bernardito, and my personal favourites Rocia Morgana and Josef Feliciano. The fans obviously know you're married to a Hispanic man-'

'Puerto-Rican,' Meredeth corrected with a magnanimous wave of her fork.

'Puerto-Rican, and that you're of Danish origins so they like mixing the Nordic and Spanish names.'

'We've already decided on names and no, I'm not telling.'

Robina pouted a little. 'Damn, girl, you are like Fort Knox some days.'

'What other business is there?'

'Nothing other than the usual stuff on the next installment of the series, but the big reason I wanted to talk to you was because CBS is going to be airing that special behind the scenes documentary that we all did for the DVD releases as a preview to the new series and a retrospective on the first.'

'You couldn't have called me?' Meredeth teased her friend.

'Where's the fun in that? Besides, then we'd miss out on lunch together and I know you've had a much more limited list of activitiess given that it's a two-for-one special in your uterus.'

'When?'

'October sixteenth, a full two hours on CBS dedicated, a repeat airing of the first series' first episode and the documentary feature before it. Eight-to-ten pm Eastern Standard Time.'

'That's great. And I'll get to see it because I'll still be at home, waiting to make like Orville Redenbacher.'

'Nope, like I said, not until the twenty-fifth. Now eat your eat your veggies.'

* * *

'Aahtie, sit! No bark!'

Arturo, who'd been railing at the passing cabs - there was something he found disturbing about yellow taxis - turned back to his young mistress and snuffled at her head as if to apologize for his rudeness. Tessi, being Tessi, hugged his thick neck and giggled.

'Silly puppy.'

Esposito shook his head, held tight the leash of the giant dog while still keeping his grip on the stroller while they waited at the end of the street. He'd gotten the text from Meredeth that she was getting on the subway and would be there shortly. He and his other best-girl had spent a wonderful day in the park, even seeing Honey-Milk and Mallory there. Tessi had pouted at the lack of Dell, but when Honey-Milk had explained he was at school learning to read and write and count, Tessi perked up because she knew the next time she saw him, he would share his vast treasure trove of knowledge with her.

'Dell 'mart, Daddy, he read books 'self,' she told him. 'I read books 'self?'

'In time, when you are big enough.'

'I gonna be big sisser, I need know.'

Touched by her determination, Esposito had made a mental note the next bed-time story they had to pick an easy one where she could learn to read the words herself and have something to show to the babies. 'You think the babies will like Doctor Seuss?'

'Daddy.' In the best 'c'mon, man' voice the two-and-a-half year-old could muster, Tessi sent her father a look. 'Ev-ee-one like Zoos.'

'You are just like your mami, you know that? You got all the best parts of her.'

'Love Mami. She here soon?'

'Yes, in fact...' Esposito trailed off as he watched the subway entrance eject it's latest passengers and he saw a senior-aged man helping Meredeth up the stairs as she held the rail with the other.

'Thank you sir,' she told him and was delighted when he actually tipped his cap to her.

'I'll be sure to tell my granddaughters I met _the _Meredeth Esposito today, they will be just tickled,' he replied and walked towards the crosswalk.

Meredeth grinned, then taking a breath, walked up to her husband and kissed him. 'Hello, sexy.'

'Hello sexy, yourself.'

'And hello beautiful,' she added, leaning down as best as she could to kiss Tessi's little head, then straightened up. 'Oh, head rush.'

Esposito grabbed her elbow. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm good, just a little light.'

'Well, home is all of fifty feet away, so we're almost there.' He shoved Tessi's stroller, kept Arturo close on his lead. 'How was lunch?'

'Great. Mark it on the calendar, CBS is airing a making-of documentary on the show before they do a rerun of the first series in the lead-up to the next one. All seven episodes before the new one begins in December.'

'That'll be fun.'

'I was thinking...maybe we could make it a little party at our house, like how Castle had the premier of the first one at his place?'

He smiled widely. 'Sure, baby that sounds great. Are we going to serve all green foods?'

'Maybe.'

'Geen Shello?' Tessi asked, catching the word 'food' in the conversation. 'We have geen Shello?'

'Not tonight, princess, we're having fish and chips for dinner tonight.'

'Wit 'law?'

'With coleslaw.' Meredeth shook her head as Esposito stopped in front of their stoop, unfastened Tessi from her stroller so she could walk up the stairs with him and Arturo. 'What did we do that this two year old actually likes to eat her veggies?'

'I don't know but I like it, it means fewer temper tantrums and more play time.'

'Pay Legos?'

'After your nap, we'll play Legos.'

Tessi pouted. 'I not seepy.'

'Fine, you know the rules,' Esposito said matter of factly. 'You don't get to play until after your nap so the longer you stay up before your nap, the less time there is for Lego.'

'O-day, Daddy. I go seep.'

'That's my girl.'

'Now that you say 'nap' that sounds like a great idea,' Meredeth yawned, walking up the stairs after the rest of the crew. 'Come on, princess, let's go find Crush and a soft blanket.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	31. Home Run Stretch: 35 Weeks

'Mere, you feeling okay?'

'Yes, baby, just very very uncomfortable.'

'I'm only in court today, you know, I'll be available for most of it.'

Meredeth put her hand on her husband's cheeks as he finished dressing for the morning. He had to give his testimony at the hearing for the MacNamara case. 'Javier Jimeno, go to work,' she said in her light, teasing tone that told Esposito she really was feeling fine. 'You have a cellphone if I need to call you.'

'Okay. Gimme one for good luck.'

Esposito closed his eyes as her lips hit his, then he grabbed his jacket and headed out to meet Ryan. He didn't give a flying fuck that his partner was doing most of the driving now, since it meant that with Meredeth so close to the twin crunch-line there would be no scuffle over who would drive the daddy-to-be to the hospital.

Meredeth watched him go from the house and set about her morning routine - get Tessi up, dressed and fed, talk Arturo for a short walk to the end of the block and back, come home, play with her daughter while they waited for whomever's turn it was to be on Meredeth-patrol, make lunch together, then have their simultaneous nap-time around one, one-thirty. It was a routine Tessi loved and because Tessi's language faculties were popping like teenage zits these days, conversation was far less one-sided than when she'd been an under-one.

Like now, Meredeth thought. With Arturo walked, watered and wee'd, they were home again and Tessi wanted to play Candyland, one of her favourite games; she liked the bright colours and practiced her counting and patterning.

'You be grrr-een-man, Mami,' Tessi told her mother, passing her the plastic gingerbread game-piece. 'I be boo.'

'Try with the 'L' in there, baby. Buh-lue.'

'Bah-loo.'

'Better.'

They played together for a few games, Tessi practicing her colours as she did so and telling it to the babies, before Tessi grew bored of it and wanted to draw, so Meredeth set her up in the kitchen with her crayons and books just as Honey-Milk knocked on the door with Dell and Mallory in her stroller. Dell looked positively adorable in his Catholic school uniform - pale blue oxford shirt under a navy blue sweater vest and khaki pants with his little dinosaur sneakers. He put his back-pack down and gave Meredeth a big hug, his forehead bumping her belly.

'Oof, Meredeth, you are getting so big! When will the babies be here?'

'Near Hallowe'en, sweetie,' she told him. 'Tessi and I were about to make lunch, are you hungry?'

'Yes, please.'

'Yum-yum,' Mallory said, clapping her hands together as her mother unfastened her from the stroller.

'She 'mart, Dell,' Tessi said, walking out of the kitchen; the look on Dell's face when he saw Tessi was nothing but pure love. He raced over and hugged her.

'Hi, Tessi,

'You fancy.'

'This is my suh-chool cuh-lothes, everyone wears them there.'

'We drrrr-awin?'

Dell nodded and hand-in-hand they went back to the kitchen, sat at the table with the crayons and paper while the mothers watched them go, two little childhood sweethearts.

'Mere, why don't you go have a rest, I'll take care of the zoo down here?' Honey-Milk gave her a smile, patted the bump. 'I'll bring you some tea in a little while.'

Since Meredeth couldn't argue the fact she was ready to sleep until Christmas, she did as she was told and nestled her pregnant self into bed with her husband's _Shark Week_ DVDs, let the soothing images of boats and water and fish lull her into a soft sleep.

She awoke some time later, she didn't know when, with a strange feeling in her body. Meredeth winced, shifted a little at the pain in her belly. She'd been feeling the little cramps every now and then this morning, but wasn't concerned as they didn't feel like anything major to be worrying about. Besides, with her big belly having finally dropped and being able to breathe easier now that it finally had, there was even less room in her body for the babies to be moving around in. Girl Twin's movements had slowed and so had Boy Twin's, and at her last check-up, Harvey had told her they were definitely getting ready to assume the position; they'd already done the head spin and thankfully, they were both in the right position unlike their big sister.

She sat up, stretched and this time definitely felt the pinch, stronger than a Braxton-Hicks, and instinctively began to count, keeping an eye on her bedside clock. Twenty-five seconds long, fifteen minutes apart. Not bad, but still...

Meredeth stood up, walked downstairs as calmly as she could, where she saw Honey-Milk reading in the living room while she kept an eye on her son who was reading and Mallory who was dozing on the couch with her trusted blanket. She glanced up at the noise of Meredeth's footsteps and marked her page.

'Hey, mama, you have a good nap?' Her nursing instincts kicked in when she saw the look on Meredeth's face. 'Is it time, should I call Javi and Kevin?'

'No, not yet, I don't think so. I think it's just a false alarm, but can you count with me just to be sure?'

'Of course, darling.'

Meredeth sat down in the armchair, breathing deeply and using her meditation and yoga techniques to focus her energy on pushing air in and out of her body. It had sounded seriously fruity and New Age-y when she'd first started it when she'd carried Tessi but now that she'd been through labour once and would be going through it once more at least, it came in quite handy.

'How long?' she asked, after the next one came and went.

'Twenty-two minutes, thirty-two seconds. We'll keep an eye on you,' Honey-Milk reassured her, then smiled at Dell, whose eyes had drifted up from the page in his book.

'Meredeth, is it time for babies?'

'No, I don't think so Dell.'

'Good. They suh-tay inside until October the twenty-eight.'

'You're in on the baby pool too?' Meredeth giggled when Dell nodded proudly.

'I gave Daddy five dollars from my birth-day money to put in the baby-pool and said if I win, we gonna share it so I can buy my Tessi's babies some-thing nice.' He frowned. 'Maybe...maybe babies like birdies, or horses.'

'Those are good options too.'

'What is an op-tion?' he asked.

'It's the choices you have in front of you.'

'Like when we get ice-cuh-ream and I have to pick Wolf-Paws, Mud-Pie or Fruit Salad?'

'Exactly.'

Dell, proud of his newly acquired word, eyed Meredeth's belly. 'What are the op-tions for the babies' names?'

'Nice try, little man. We've already picked them out and you get to find out with everyone else when they're born. And before you even think of it, no, Tessi doesn't know, you can't ask her.' Meredeth blew out a breath as she felt the discomfort stay constant and begin to grow, then looked at her friend. 'Jenn-'

'On it.'

Honey-Milk disappeared and returned with Meredeth's cellphone, knowing that it had a personalized ring-tone Esposito would pick up right away. 'Speed dial one?'

'No, three.'

'Three?'

'One is voice-mail and two was my grandmother's home number, I leave it blank out of respect. Javi's number three.'

Honey-Milk dialed, then passed her friend the phone; Meredeth began to mumble-chant 'pick-up, pick-up' until he did.

'Mere, baby, you okay, do I need to come get you?'

'No, it's a false labour, baby, but I wanted to let you know I had one today so that you know, you know?'

'Thanks, babe. H as they ow are you feeling otherwise?'

'Good, Jenny and her gang are here for the afternoon, Tessi and Mallory are napping and Dell's pretending to read while he listens to what the grown-ups are talking about.'

'Sounds about right. I'll be home soon. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Esposito hung up his cell, turned to Ryan with a relieved expression as they waited for the end of the court recess, when he and Ryan would take the stand. 'No babies today, you're still in the pool.'

'And by extension so is Dell. He got a lot of birthday cash from his grandparents and he wanted to put five dollars in with my baby-pool bet so if we won, he could buy the twins something like he did for Tessi.'

'What a kid,' Esposito chuckled. 'He's going to be running poker tables by middle school.'

'And Tessi will be his Miss Money-Penny.'

The doors to the court room opened again, and Esposito could feel his sweat glands kicking in already. He'd worn a dark shirt with a dark suit on purpose, so that as he was sworn in and took his seat, no one save for his partner would know the copious rivers flowing down his back.

He focused on Ian Link, the stellar ADA whose career was rising higher than Charlie Sheen's ego as he'd kamikaze'd his television career. The man had come from a theatre-training background, and hsi voice had the round, resonant tones of a Shakespearean actor. Esposito gave his name, rank and badge number for the record, stated himself as one of two primary investigators at the scene. He gave his statements neat and precisely and knew exactly what notes the defense would try and hit.

'Detective,' defense attorney Richard Strickland said in his snake-oil voice, 'you say that you found Mister MacNamara in his office with his pants literally around his ankles and a full erection, is that corect?'

'Yes.'

'Is it possible the man had been expecting company or someone had just left him?'

'No.'

'You seem pretty certain of your answer, Detective.'

'As previously stated by Medical Examiner Weaver, the examination of the body revealed no trace of condom spermicide or sexual-aid chemicals.'

'Are you in your forties, Detective?'

'Yes, I am.'

'And do you use sexual-aid chemicals?'

'Objection, your Honour, the details of Detective Esposito's personal life is not relevant,' Ian barked fro place at the prosecution's desk.

'Sustained,' Holloway agreed.

'I'll rephrase, is it possible Mister MacNamara could have been expecting a lover to meet him and he got a little over-excited in his anticipation of said meeting?'

'It's possible however, the evidence of his financial records, email records, and phone records indicate Mister MacNamara was faithful to his wife.'

'Didn't it seem odd to you that he'd leave his home, his wife and children, in Tudor City to go to work in the Financial District on a Sunday afternoon?'

'No. MacNamara's work records indicate that because of the time difference between the New York and Melbourne offices, this project for the firm had him working irregular hours that kept him from his family and again, phone records show he calling only his wife to talk to her, his email also indicated no contact of an illicit sort with a woman other than his wife.'

'Contact of an illicit sort, you say.'

'Yes, his email account showed him using his personal email to send his wife love notes of an intimate nature when he had to work late. If he was having an affair, this man was in the wrong line of business and should have been working for the CIA.'

Strickland worked the subject a little more, trying to trip up , but it came off as exactly what it was - a desperate tap-dance for an obviously guilty man. Once Ryan had given his testimony, the court was adjourned until three pm giving them a half-hour break.

'He sent his wife dirty love letters from work,' Ryan said as they jogged down the stairs of the courthouse, headed to the coffee shop across the street for a quick boost; they'd already eaten the sandwiches from Meredeth's kitchen that morning. 'Some guys really do that?'

Esposito thought of the naked photo of his pregnant wife with a post-sex look on her face currently stored on his cellphone and how he'd sneaked a peak at it when he'd locked himself in the men's room that morning during the first recess. 'They really do.'


	32. Frustration: 37 Weeks

Esposito had many ideas of what constituted fun: sex with Meredeth always ranked as the number one spot; there was also snorkeling, hockey games, playing with Tessi and the dog at the park. Not making that list was getting called out at two-thirty in the middle of an October night when there were flash-freeze warnings out for the entire city and he was on eggshells waiting for his wife to go into labour.

He'd given Meredeth a kiss and she'd given him one for good luck, and he'd been lucky to find some veggie-chilli, two containers, he and Ryan could heat up once they were back at the station, and they'd made it to the SoHo Night Club, a popular place amongst people with a lot of money and zero taste, and they walked past where the uniforms were keeping the

'Man, why do girls do that to themselves?' Ryan pondered, eying up the women in dresses that barely covered the essentials. 'They wear those tiny little fuck-me dresses and ice-pick ankle-breakers in weather like this and then think they have the right to bitch about being cold?'

'It's messed up but it's how the female mind works. They're supposedly supposed to look dim and stupid, even if they're a bonds-trader or lawyer by day, so the man can come in, offer his jacket and himself for warm company, thereby being the hero,' Esposito told him whle checking his phone for messages.

'Then the woman who do that really are dim and stupid,' Ryan reasoned. 'Meredeth never did that, did she?'

'Yeah, but it was after we started dating, when she'd go out with Kate and Jenny, both women all in happy relationships so they were dressing up fo themselves, not to attract some musclehead,' he replied, still staring at his phone.

'Dude, you've got it on its loudest setting you will hear it if she calls. Lanie how's it going?' Ryan greeted the ME with as friendly a greeting as he could muster.

Lanie was crouched over the body in her high heels once more and looking like herself again, OCME windbreaker and all. 'I'm starting to freeze my niblets off as we speak. You?'

'Same, only I think our classification of niblets is a little bit different. What can you tell us about the body?'

'Unfortunately, we don't need an ID on him. It's Joey Tantrum, from that reality show _The Strange Life_. I watched a lot of TV before Violet was born,' she explained off their looks. 'Reality programming blows but when you're up because a little someone's kicking you in the bladder for an hour straight, anything is entertaining. He's been stabbed multiple times, but it looks like he's put up a fight.' With one gloves hand, Lanie picked up the guy's wrist, pointed to the abrasions. 'The two events might be independent of each other but given who he is, it's unlikely.'

'Who is he?' the boys chorused.

'_The Strange Life_ is a bunch of spoiled rich kids from the Jersey Coast who are forced to live like real college kids for a summer, working and partying on like no budget and every week they boot someone out if they can't meet the task expectations. Like I said, reality TV pretty much blows, but the real downside is that it's made twits like these even more famous than Meredeth and Castle who are actually talented people. Joey Tantrum, just as the name implies, likes to throw hissy-fits. The highest rated episode of the show was when he actually got in a barfight with his female house-mate Schnokums.'

'You know Ryan, I'm thinking your idea to home-school Mallory isn't such a bad thing after all,' Esposito decided. 'Time of death?'

'He's way fresh, less than an hour, though not surprising since people started stumbling out after last call. I'm getting him wrapped up quickly and we're taking him out through the neighbouring building to get the media off our tail. Meanwhile, you two get to deal with everyone inside,' Lanie said with a guilty smile. 'And they are none of them even close to sober. Hell I doubt they could even spell sober without a drop of alcohol in their bodies.'

Both men sighed, wondered if it was even worth putting money on who got their suit ruined by someone throwing up on it.

* * *

'I really wish I could put dry-cleaning on my expense account.'

'Get used to it, bro, you've got two little puke-machines arriving soon.'

'There's a huge difference between my newborns spitting onto my shoulder on an easily-washed towel or receiving blanket and a wasted twenty-two year-old in ten pounds of make-up puking up on my suit.'

Esposito balled up his ruined jacket into a plastic bag, jammed it in the trunk of the Crown Vic. It was nearly four in the morning and they'd finally waded through the drunk crowd, some of whom had sobered up at the sight of the cops, others who thought it was a publicity stunt by Joey Tantrum and had begun taking photos and asking for autographs. The whole mess had made Esposito shake his head and seriously consider asking Meredeth about homeschooling Tessi and her little sister.

He'd just begun to think about whether or not he had a fresh shirt in his locker in the locker-room when his cellphone chirp-chirped Meredeth's ring-tone at him and he froze. His throat went dry and tight as he answered. 'Mere?'

'Javi?'

Esposito recognized the tone of her voice well and was on instant alert, the cool-headed cop in full force. 'What's going on, baby?'

'I...I think I'm having contractions.'

'Okay, how long?'

'The first was just after you left on your call-out. I've been timing them for over an hour and they're pretty intense. Where are you?'

'At the precinct, I'll...' He trailed off when Ryan pulled the phone from his hand.

'Mere, it's Ryan, call my wife, she's expecting your call, she'll drive you and Tessi to the hospital, we'll get there as soon as we can.'

'Okay, let me talk to my husband again.'

Esposito glared at Ryan but kept his voice even. 'Baby, you catch that?'

'Yes. Javi, I...please get here soon.'

'I will. I love you.'

'I love you too.'

Esposito hung up, stared at his phone. 'I froze,' he muttered. 'I froze on her, I haven't done that ever.'

'No you didn't.' Ryan shook his head. 'You were trying to be a cop and a husband at the same time. Sometimes, like right now, it's hard,' he said simply as he dialed the captain. 'Sir, it's Detective Ryan...yes I am aware of the hour...we caught a case and Esposito's wife just called, she's on the way to the hospital with the babies...it's a guy by the name of Joey Strange, though truth be told it appears to be a bar fight gone wrong...yes sir, I'll let him know...thanks.'

'What'd he say?'

'He said go look after Meredeth, because you'd be too distracted on the job to be useful.'

'I'm sorry to bail on you-'

'Bail, hell, I get to drag Geoffs out of bed and make him do my bidding, much like you made me do yours when I first joined the Twelfth,' Ryan grinned, slapped his friend's shoulder. 'And you get to go be a daddy twice in one night.'

* * *

'And breathe, that's it, Mere, you got it, girl.'

Honey-Milk reassured her friend in her soothing nurse's voice as she watched the monitor beep-beep-beep with the twins' heart-rates. They were both good and strong, a sure sign that it would be just like a singleton delivery only two babies would come out instead of one. Somehow, it was actually easier than Meredeth's delivery with Tessi, as Tessi had been turned inside of Meredeth and needed to be moved with some help. All that effort on Meredeth's part of taking the precautions necessary in this kind of delivery was clearly paying off.

She patted her friend's hand and smiled at her. 'Guess you fooled us all with the baby pool, huh?'

'Looks like. Who gets all that money, then?'

'Mami, sssh, you too noisy,' Tessi mumbled from the chair where she was snuggled up with Dell and her stuffed turtle.

'I'm sorry, princess.'

The door opened and Nurse Andrea Henessey came in, yawning widely. 'Hey Jenny, how you feeling, girl?'

'Looking forward to coming back to work in a month or so, but right now just here for my girl.'

'Where's your man at?' Andrea asked, making notes on her chart.

'He was called to a crime scene, he's on his way here.'

'I'm here!'

All three women looked at Esposito as he came into the room, slightly out of breath from his sudden sprint from the parking lot. 'I'm here,' he repeated, and Honey-Milk stood up, gently woke the children while she carried Mallory out in her arms and the other two walked with her to the lounge. 'Has Harvey been in yet?'

'He's on his way, he was at a family dinner in Montauk, I called him after I hung up from you,' Meredeth told her husband.

'Are you in a lot of pain?'

'Not yet, mostly just discomfort. I have ten pounds of baby crushing my insides.'

'Here, Meredeth, gotta get you wired.' Andrea moved up on the other side of the bed to put an IV into Meredeth's left arm, then smiled when Daniel Brick came in, still in his street clothes. 'Nurse Brick, glad you could make it.'

'I was cozy in bed, you're the one on nights,' he teased her, and she snickered. 'I was looking forward to...seeing you after shift.'

'It's fine, Daniel, we know all about you two,' Esposito said with a wink. 'Nothing stays secret for too long in our circle of friends, with a few minor exceptions.'

Andrea's pager went off, and she headed out, giving Daniel a quick poke in the ribs on her way out, leaving the expectant parents to watch the little bit of theatre between the couple. 'You certainly light her up.'

'Promise you won't tell anyone, especially Jenny?' When they both nodded, Daniel reached inside his wallet and pulled out a picture. 'What do you think?'

'I think Andrea's a lucky lady,' Esposito told him, examining the picture of the ring. 'And you're keeping it the same place I kept picture of Meredeth's ring. How you gonna do it?'

'Our one year, November nineteen, we're recreating our first date. Turkey sandwiches and Tony Jaa, and this time instead of giving her a Meyer lemon seedling, I'm giving her that.'

'That's so romantic, Javi he...oh, oh boy.'

'Mere, I'm here, baby, I'm here.' Since all of Esposito's energy was focused on his wife, he didn't notice Daniel slip out. Instead, he picked up Meredeth's hand, kissed the knuckles. 'You've got it, that's my girl.'

The machines slowed in their beeping but stayed steady as the contraction ebbed. 'Oh, man, I want some drugs soon.'

Esposito kissed her hand again, then looked over when Harvey walked in, pulled on the ever-present latex gloves. He had the look Esposito imagined he wore as well, of someone who'd had their sleep interrupted by their job.

'Alright, Meredeth, let's have a look.'

Meredeth blew out a breath as Harvey gave her the standard pelvic examine, and nodded. 'I'm good to go?'

'Yes. Go home. False alarm.'

'Oh fuck me, come on!'

Harvey didn't blame Meredeth at all for her outburst. 'If it helps, you're pretty much on the breaking-point, Meredeth. For all I know, I'll see you later today.'

'That's not too soon?'

'No, Meredeth, they won't be preemies if they are born this week. Anything thirty-six weeks and over is acceptable for twins.' The doctor smiled gently at her, patted her knee. 'Get some rest and I'll see you very soon.'

Harvey left and Meredeth squeezed her eyes shut. 'Dammit, you'd think I'd be more in tune with my body having been through this once.'

'Come on, let's go get Tessi, tell her she has to wait a little longer to be a big sister.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	33. Family Day

A few hours later, after a whoping two hours of sleep, Esposito wandered into the precinct feeling like a zombie. He greeted Ryan with a half-hearted wave and brewed himself a double latte. Once at his desk, ready to scan the information from Ryan on Joey Tantrum, real name Joseph Malducci, he'd just picked up a high-lighter to pick through crime scene photos when he heard his captain's voice loud and stern.

'Detective Esposito, go home now.'

'Sir-'

'No. No arguments. Your head is on Meredeth and your family, they need the most of your attention right now.'

'Sir,' Esposito tried again, standing up to face his commanding officer, and got nowhere. 'My partner and I have a fresh case-'

'You're doing more damage to your partner by putting him in situations where you might be distracted by your personal life. Javier.' Montgomery used the man's given name to drive his point home. 'You're a good cop, and a good cop knows when he needs to prioritize. When I say what's your priority right now, what's your gut say?'

'Meredeth and the babies.'

'Then follow your captain's orders and go home to your family. They need you more than we do right now.'

'Okay.'

He took the subway since he didn't trust himself to drive his Crown Vic home; on the way there, he thought of the time when Meredeth had been in Japan and he'd worked himself into auto-pilot and had been ordered to go home. He'd stumbled into the townhouse and then gotten phone sex from Meredeth who was also trying to go to bed in Japan without much success. In his mind, this was no different. All he wanted to do was sleep and hold onto Meredeth.

Unlocking the front door, he made it past Arturo and wasn't surprised when he went upstairs that Meredeth was still in bed, Tessi and her stuffed turtle in his spot on the bed. The DVD player was whirring away and watching them; he recognized the music from _Shark Tale. _He stripped off his clothes so he was just in his white t-shirt and boxers, moved Tessi into the middle of the bed and smiled when she turned over in her sleep, put her little hand near his heart. It nearly broke him, but instead closed his eyes and let himself fall into the sleep his body had been mercilessly begging him for.

Some time later he awoke, Tessi still snuggled up beside him and Meredeth in bed too. His daughter was spooned up against him, curled into a little ball around her stuffed turtle and her soft little snores were like music to his ears. She was just as tuckered out as her parents, he realized, waiting up to see her baby brother and sister. He stroked her dark curls, kissed her head.

'Daddy loves you so much, Tessiana,' he murmured to her, and his heart melted when she blinked her blue eyes at him, and sighed deeply.

'Mo-nin' Daddy, you no' dashin' baddies today?'

'The captain sent me home, said I needed to rest today with you and Mami since the babies are going to be here soon.'

'Sssh, Mami seepin' too.'

Esposito glanced up, saw Meredeth was still out for the count. 'Yeah, we're going to let her sleep a little while yet, baby girl.'

'O-day. Wash 'toons?'

'Yes, we'll watch some toons, downstairs so we don't wake Mami.'

'Too late,' Meredeth mumbled as she opened her eyes, smiled at them. ''What are you doing home, baby?'

'Montgomery sent me home, said I was better off to get some rest and look after you guys than risk being distracted on the job.'

Meredeth nodded. 'Good advice,' she said and instantly Esposito felt a million times better about being ordered off the job by his CO. 'What time is it?'

'Almost eleven.'

'Oh, we have to get up, and get some tidying up done around here, everyone's coming to see the _Lady Hawk_ behind-the-scenes special tonight.' Meredeth shoved herself up into a sitting position, kicked at the covers. 'I need to make food and...what?'

'I just love watching you go into party-planner mode, even when you're thirty-seven weeks pregnant. It's so cute,' Esposito laughed, and Meredeth bopped him with a pillow. 'Ow, hey! No beating on your minion.'

'Pay nice, Mami,' Tessi added with a little smile, tickled to see her parents acting so goofy and fun.

'I'm playing nice. Okay, how about this, I'm going to get a shower, then we'll have lunch and figure out what needs to be done for seven pm tonight.'

'Deal.'

'Deal. I help, Daddy, I big sisser.'

Esposito smiled at Meredeth, then tickled Tessi's ribs until she was giggling at an ear-drum shattering pitch. 'Yes you are, my little princess.'

' 'Mon, Daddy,' she managed when he'd stopped poking at her, 'we go help Mami.'

* * *

One of the pluses Meredeth had discovered about being pregnant in the fall was that the maternity clothes were super-cute and way comfy. Today she picked out a warm candy-apple red sweater that reached to mid thigh even with the bump and a pair of kitten-soft grey leggings that made her feel as human as possible, given that she had two babies taking their marks and waiting for the starter's pistol.

She headed downstairs and pressed a hand to her heart when she saw Tessi standing on a chair to help her daddy wash vegetables at the kitchen sink.

'Daddy, why wash ve-she-tills?'

'So we don't eat dirt and all the germs that are in the dirt.'

'Derms yucky.'

'Exactly.'

'Look at my two chefs go,' Meredeth said and both turned to given her identical smiles, dimples winking away in their cheeks. 'What's on the menu?'

'Ve-she-tills, Mami.'

'We're making up those fresh veggie sticks you like for everyone tonight, and I think there's one of your spinach things in the freezer we can put in the oven too, with some pitas or something. They're just snacks, not a full dinner, right?'

'Right.'

'Tea, Daddy? Mami wan' tea?'

'Ah, yes, here we are.' Esposito brought the freshly brewed pot over to the table with a cup for his beloved, pulled out her chair. 'You sit there and keep an eye on things.'

Meredeth nodded, winced a little bit as one of the babies kicked her ribs. 'With help like this, we'll be ready in no time.'

'No, not help. Worker bees, minions, and there's another one now,' he told her at the knock on the door, and he let Lanie in; she followed him to the kitchen where she joined Meredeth in a cup of tea.'

'It's my day off girl and I'm helping you, so no arguing with this mama, got it?'

'Got it.'

* * *

By seven-thirty, Tessi was ready for bed and just about everyone who was coming had arrived, with the exception of Honey-Milk and Ryan - they'd been at their first parent-teacher night for Dell at Saint Bart's - and were assembled in the living room. Dave and Lanie were there, as were Beckett and Castle, the former of whom had been a little sniffly when she walked through the door.

'Someone's having a mommy moment,' Castle had murmured to Esposito when he'd gotten him a beer from the fridge. 'First time leaving RJ with a babysitter who wasn't my mother or my daughter or one of you guys.'

'It happens.'

'How are you feeling after last night? Heard it was a rough one.'

Esposito sipped his soft drink - no way would he have any booze in his system with Meredeth possibly having the babies this week - and nodded. 'There's a reason the captain's the guy in charge. I'm a good cop but I'm also committed to my family and every now and then I try to be super-cop and super-Javi.'

'You know Meredeth thinks of you as both, right?'

'I know, but I forgot that I know that some days, like when I'm called to a scene in the middle of the night, and then my pregnant wife calls and tells me she's going to the hospital because she thinks she's in labour.'

Castle laughed. 'Oh, come on, that's no excuse!'

'Guys!' Lanie called from the living room. 'It's almost time to start!'

They crowded into the living room, all picking out comfortable spots on the furniture and the couch; Dave who sat on the floor looked around in confusion. 'Where's the beast?'

'Upstairs with his little beauty. If she's in her room or in bed, he's not far away.'

The front door opened and Ryan and Honey-Milk came in, locked it behind them. 'Did we miss anything?' Honey-Milk asked with a flushed smile.

'Nope, just about to start,' Beckett replied.

'Quiet!' Lanie shushed them as the iconic Down in Ashes music kicked in and the host of the show introduced herself and the viewing audience to the behind-the-scenes look at the page-to-screen journey of the epic graphic novel.

_For many of the fans, the series begins and ends with its author, Meredeth Esposito, who took on a smaller roll this time around and with good reason: when we came by to interview the production group in May, we learned Meredeth was four months pregnant with twins. We had the chance to speak with many of the people she worked with over the course of both productions._

_Meredeth is a hurricane of creativity, it is impossible to be around her and not feel her passion for this work._

_When you meet her she's a quiet, unassuming kind of person and then bam, she's all of a sudden loud and funny _

_It was a toss up as to who was more of a fangirl when we first met_

'Listen to them, going on about you.' Lanie wrapped her arm around Dave, gave him a squeeze. 'Mere, you should be very proud.'

'Sshh!' Honey-Milk and Castle both shushed her. 'You're missing it!'

_We also had the chance to speak to Meredeth's husband, Detective Javier Esposito of the NYPD, when he visited the studios with Meredeth._

_I love her very much and I'm so proud of what she's done, especially this time around since she's balancing motherhood, her career and keeping our new babies safe. _

_Any special plans for watching the new series debut?_

_Yes, a family dinner, all our friends and kids together to watch_

Meredeth looked over at her husband, who sat on the end of the couch so that when they each stretched out their arms they could hold hands. 'When did you have time for that?'

'I was in the studio and they asked me a few questions while you were wrapping up a few details.' Esposito rubbed the pad of his thumb over the back of her hand. 'I meant every word.'

'Mm-hmm.' Meredeth smiled, shifted as she felt the Braxton-Hicks contraction in her belly. 'I love you too.'

They watched the rest, using commercial breaks to check on their little ones via phone and Esposito went upstairs to check on Tessi and Arturo who were sound asleep. When he came back down, he was right on time to catch the special preview, the post-opening credits scene of the first episode in the new series. It was the same scene he'd been privileged to see when he'd visited Meredeth, the same day he'd done his little on-the-spot interview. As the end-credits rolled for the special, the living room was full of whistles and appreciative claps for their friend's success.

'Way to go, pretty mama,' Castle told her, toasting her with his beer.

'Lemme just get that for you,' Ryan teased her, pretending to brush off her shoulders. 'There, no dust on this diamond.'

'Oh, I'm so glad. Now all of you get out.'

Everyone turned to Meredeth, staring at her like she'd lost her mind as she sat calmly with her hands on her belly in the wide armchair.

'Mere?' Lanie ventured cautiously.

'Get out,' she repeated through her teeth. 'You're leaving, we're all leaving now. My water just broke.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy


	34. Huddle, Ready, Break

Everyone stared at Meredeth as she ran her hands over her belly, calmly breathing in and out.

'Are you sure, Mere?' Esposito asked her, getting up and crouching by her feet. 'It's not a little accident?'

'No, I'm sure. Besides, I've been having contractions for the last hour and a half.'

'The last hour and a half?' Ryan spluttered. 'Why didn't you say anything?'

'I wanted to see the end of my show, and I thought it was another false alarm like last night.'

Esposito found himself utterly calm this time around and set about giving instructions. 'Okay, the bags are in the trunk of the Nissan already, the file with your hospital paperwork is on your bedside table, Dave?'

'Got it.' The paramedic was off like a flash as Esposito continued, 'Have you been timing them?'

'Yeah, not the length, just the distance apart, about sixteen minutes.'

'Okay, that's good. Do you want a fresh pair of pants for going to the ER?'

Meredeth nodded. 'Lanie, you've done my laundry lots. Tessi, we need to get Tessi up so she can come with us.'

'We'll take her to our place, it's the closest to Saint Vincent's, Mere,' Ryan volunteered. 'My sister Kelsey's there with Dell and Mal, we'll pay her for overnight so Dell can get to school in the morning.'

'Uh-huh,' Meredeth agreed through gritted teeth as she felt another contraction hit, this one a little stronger than the last few had been. She kept one hand on her belly and reached the other one out blindly, where she felt her husband take it. 'Javi.'

'It's okay, baby, Javi's here, Javi's here,' Esposito murmured to her as she breathed through it. He kept his eyes o his watched and when he felt her grip loosen, he looked up at her smiled. 'Forty-one seconds, not bad.'

'Javi, Tessi?'

'Right.'

'I'll go with you, pack her a bag,' Beckett volunteered. 'Castle, you're driving, I'll go home and get RJ.'

'Yep.'

'What about Violet and Carey?' Meredeth asked at the flurry of movement.

'They're already looked after. Thanks Lanie.'

The group was so busy, they didn't notice how swiftly and tenderly Esposito stripped off his wife's leggings and slipped on the maternity jeans, then brought over her slip-on boots, her coat. 'My purse?' she asked to no-one in particular.

'I've got it, and the keys.' Castle held up both, then looked up the stairs where Beckett was bringing the sleepy-eyed Tessi down the stairs in her arms; the little girl's overnight bag was tucked in the crook of the detective's arm.

'She's awake. Hey beautiful, Mami's right here,' Beckett murmured to her and Tessi's eyes flew open, her head lifted from Beckett's shoulder as she looked around.

'Mami?'

'Hey princess, guess what?' At the sight of her daughter, Meredeth's throat tightened up. She reached out to stroke her hand over her daughter's dark curls. 'The babies are on their way.'

'Yea babies. I domin' too?'

'In a little bit. Daddy has to get Mami to the hospital first, so you get to go to Dell's house for a few hours, okay? Where's Crush?'

'Dush in bag, he seepin' too.'

'Okay, give me and Daddy a kiss.'

Beckett turned so Tessi could peck her parents' lips, then took her outside, where she was tucked into her car seat which Ryan had transferred into Honey-Milk's hybrid. She raced back up the stairs to give Meredeth a hug. 'Good luck, honey, we'll see you soon, okay?'

'Yeah, in a little bit.'

Meredeth took deep, meditative breaths as everyone left the Cheslea townhouse and Meredeth sat in the back-seat of her Nissan with Esposito beside her, Castle popping into the driver's seat. 'Welcome to Air Castle, please ensure your wives are in their full upright position.'

'Funny man,' Meredeth told him, her fingers twined tightly with her husband's. 'Easiest way to go is-'

'I know where Saint Vincent's is, it's where my children were both born,' Castle reassured her. 'Damn, shoulda taken Beckett's car, she's got the gumball.'

* * *

They got to the hospital in good time, despite Castle's complaint they couldn't use any kind of police siren to clear the roads. By quarter to ten, Meredeth had been checked in and was hooked up to a monitor by a nurse.

'Are Andrea Hennessey and Daniel Brick working tonight?' Esposito asked the nurse, who looked like she could wrestle a grizzly bear and win.

'Why?'

'They're part of my wife's doctor's delivery team, I was just curious.'

'Save it, this girl needs to get on IV fluids. What a woman's doing having twins at your age is beyond me,' she muttered in a thick German accent, scribbling onto the chart and stomping out of the birthing suite.

Meredeth looked up at Esposito with eyes round and wide as an owl's. 'Don't let her back in here, she scares me and the thought of two babies coming out safely is enough to worry about right now.'

'Understood, my angel. Want me to brush your hair?'

'Please.'

Esposito dug into Meredeth's bag, found the travel make-up kit with her hairbrush and a few hair ties in it. He pulled the brush through her silky hair in long, smooth strokes, then wove a loose braid so it would be off of her face during the labor and delivery. 'Want a little war-paint too?'

'Really?'

'Really.'

'Okay.'

He unzipped the make-up kit once more; the scent of her perfume linger in the fabric, making all the containers smell of her. He picked up a little plastic case full of powders that looked like a pastel rainbow. 'What ones, what order?'

'Just the champagne one, start by my nose and go outwards from lashes to eyebrows.'

Following her instructions, Esposito did both eyes, then dabbed a little sheer pink lip-gloss on her mouth and held up the mirror. 'My beautiful queen.'

'Oh, you guys are so cute!'

They both glanced over at the door and saw Andrea there, in her blue scrubs with red and white crescent moons all over them along with some Japanese writing that appeared to be some kind of logo. 'I hope if Daniel and I ever end up with kids, he does that for me, though that might be a dangerous proposition.'

'Oh?'

She nodded, brought over the IV bags and tubes. 'I tried to teach him traditional Japanese calligraphy, and it looked more like cave art than characters. Here we are, glucose and saline.'

'Who was the East German hausfrau?' Esposito asked, sitting back in the chair.

'Oh, Nurse Baumbach? Yeah, she's a real pain in the ass, but she refuses to retire so unless she screws up and endangers a patient we're stuck with her.'

'And your man?'

'Daniel's in another surgery right now, once he's done, he'll be here to take care of Meredeth's anesthetics. Harvey's on his way in soon too. There.' Andrea put the last piece of tape over Meredeth's wrist. 'We'll keep an eye on those babies and I'll make sure Baumbach steers clear of this room, not to worry.'

'How?'

'Leave it to me,' Andrea said with a wink, then walked out, leaving the expectant parents on their own once more. It didn't stay that way long, as Castle, Lanie and Ryan all filed in.

'Hey guys,' Meredeth gave them a smile. 'Everyone get their shit sorted out. Mmf, right no swearing. Girl Twin doesn't like it when I curse,' she whimpered playfully when she felt the foot poke at her.

'You've got names already for them?' Lanie asked, sitting opposite Esposito while Ryan and Castle stood at the foot of the bed. 'You gonna share or hang onto them?'

'First person who hears the name is the baby, then Tessi, then you guys. That's the food chain. How is Tessi?'

'Pouting something fierce she can't be here, but happy she gets to sleep over at Dell and Mallory's,' Ryan replied. 'Said we need to call her ah-do-ah-pee.'

'AQAP, as quick as possible,' Esposito chuckled, looking at Meredeth, who'd clenched her eyes shut as the monitor's beeping increased. 'Contraction? Okay, baby, breathe, in and out, nice and deep, there you go, there you go.'

He watched the determination in her face as she fought her way through the contraction, her hands not in his right now but curled like talons into the bed-sheets. The sound of her uneven breathing had him mentally railing against every deity that no woman should have to go through such torture for such a joyous occasion. And he also knew he needed to get himself in check if he was going to be of any use to his Meredeth - they were barely an hour into her active labour and he was already cursing the gods. Not a good sign. Instead he watched the monitor, spoke in the same voice he'd use on a traumatized victim.

'Almost there, almost there, and...you did it, another one down for the count.'

Meredeth smiled, patted his cheek. 'In case I get a little distracted later, I love you so much, Javier Jimeno.'

'I love you so very much too, Meredeth Dakkars.' Esposito stood up, gave her a kiss. 'I'll be right back, I just need to take a leak.'

'That's more than I needed, baby.'

'I'll be right back.'

Meredeth watched him go with Ryan and Castle out of the room to get a quick breather, then turned to Lanie; she'd almost forgotten her friend was there when the contraction had struck. 'Sorry, Lanie,' she started, but Lanie waved her off.

'Girl, please, Shemar Moore could have been in my hospital room when I was having Violet and I wouldn't have noticed if he'd been naked and laying on a stack of hundred dollar bills,' the doctor laughed. 'And I was only having one.'

'They said...Harvey said, the boy will be here first, he's the lower twin, and that the girl twin won't take too long to come after him. Was it a little alien to think that you were actually helping grow a penis inside you when you were carrying Carey?'

'A little bit, but I didn't know he was a 'he' until he was outside of me.'

'I'm going to give Tabitha a baby. I knew I would but I'm not sure yet if she'll have a boy or a girl.'

'I think Tabitha should have a boy.'

Meredeth turned a little on her side towards Lanie. 'Really?'

'Yeah. I reread the entire series when I was on leave with Violet and I think her and Tonio would do really well with. Like Olympia and Alexander only without the creepy incest or bad movie.'

Esposito popped back into the room, and had not his friend's but Harvey with him, and Lanie stood up to take her leave. She planted a kiss on Meredeth's forehead. 'We love you, baby girl, we'll see you and the twins soon.'

She left and Harvey read the fetal monitor's print-out, nodded firmly. 'Both babies are looking good, though Girl Twin is anxious to get going and her brother's in the mood to take his time.' He felt her belly, nodded again. 'Yep they are both in the right position so as of right now, no need to consider an emergency C-section. Okay, Meredeth, feet up like a good lass.'

Harvey gave her a sympathetic look while he gave her a quick pelvic exam. 'Yep, this time you are staying here until you have two babies to take home. You're about two centimetres in, and this is going to be a more intense labour process, so we're going to have Daniel give you a mild painkiller at four centimetres and your epidural at seven.'

'That's the plan, then, for sure, Harvey?' Esposito asked.

'Yes. Because both twins look like they are going to be born vaginally, we want to control Meredeth's pain levels as early as we can. But that aside, it's still going to be a while, so tell the small army in the lounge to tuck in for the night.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	35. Marathon, Not a Sprint

'Please?'

'No.'

'But it's just so-'

'No.'

'But-'

'Castle!' Exasperated, Esposito could only laugh as he dragged his palm over his smooth scalp. 'You are not putting this into your book as the birth of Maggie and Ochoa's baby. It was bad enough what you did for the scene with the conception!'

Castle snickered, thought of how he'd used Ryan's embarrassment to his advantage: he'd written into the latest Nikki Heat novel that Maggie and Ochoa recording their lovemaking wormed its way onto the Internet and everyone got to see just how Ochoa had knocked up the beautiful Maggie wearing his ring. He hadn't told them about that one until he'd given them all a preview copy before the book launch and he'd gotten a call from a rather irate Meredeth over using the moment without consulting her first. 'At least I asked this time,' he pointed out.

Esposito rolled his eyes, then took his coffee into Meredeth's suite along with a cup of chipped ice for her. She'd gotten her mild painkiller already and was just coming out of a contraction with Honey-Milk by her side as the two men walked in the room.

'Ice,' Meredeth panted, 'gimme please.'

'Here we are my little firework.'

'Thank you.' Meredeth took the cup, chewed down three ice chips at once. 'What time is it?'

'About one-thirty, baby.'

'And I'm just over four centimetres, so at this rate, we'll have twins for breakfast.'

Honey-Milk laughed. 'Always an optimist. Don't you remember your labour with Tessi?'

'Yes, I do, quite well and she was a stubborn little thing. This time, there's two babies and the girl twin who will be the second-born is kicking her big brother's behind to get the part started.'

The room phone rang, which had them all looking around; who would be calling on that line when they all had cellphones? Meredeth picked it up hesitantly. 'Hello?'

'Hi, is this Meredeth?'

'Yes it is.'

'This is Kelsey Ryan, Kevin's sister? I've got a little girl here who wants to talk to her mom for a moment.'

There was a shuffle and Meredeth heard her daughter's sleepy voice. 'Mami? Babies here?'

'Oh, hi, baby, they're not here yet, they're taking their time. Why are you awake, _preciosa_?'

'Bad deam. Mon'ters shassin' me. Dell no' there helpin'.'

'Aw, princess it's okay, it was just a dream. Do you want to talk to Daddy?'

'Uh-huh. Love you, Mami, moosh babies, peas.'

'I will.' Meredeth passed the receiver to Esposito. 'Tessi had a bad dream.'

She watched Esposito sit back down beside her, talk in his sweet, fatherly voice to their big girl and reassure her it was a bad dream and that the babies were coming and they would be here as soon as they could. He gave her kisses over the phone and hung up, then squeezed Meredeth's hand tightly when he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. 'It's okay, Mere, she's fine.'

'I know, but I don't like the idea that we're not there to comfort her.'

'I get that, baby believe me, but she's got Kelsey there and Dell's there too, you know if he wakes up and Tessi's in trouble, a hoarde of ghouls and goblins wouldn't stand a chance against him.'

'Even so...oh...big one, this is a big one.'

'Okay, okay, you got it, you got it.'

She made it through, and when she opened her eyes, Beckett, Lanie and Honey-Milk were all in her birthing suite each holding a little gift bag. 'Athos, Porthos and Aramis, welcome,' she sighed with a little laugh as her husband wiped down her sweaty brow with a cool, damp cloth. 'Oh that feels so good, baby.'

'I know.' Esposito pursed his lips to try and fight the smile.

'How?'

'It's the same tone of voice you use when we making love.'

'Ew,' Lanie winkled her nose, 'over-share.'

'Out you go, Javier, it's girl time now,' Honey-Milk told him in her sweet no-nonsense voice. 'We'll send up a smoke signal in fifteen.'

Esposito looked at his wife, so beautiful and strong. 'Mere?'

'Go get something to eat, I'm sure Castle's bought share in Famous Ray's by now.'

'Actually it's Genaro's Sandwiches and he's already saved three of your favourite ones for when Harvey gives you the all-clear after the birth,' Beckett reassured her friend, remembering all too well how it had been almost a year before and she'd was so hungry. 'My first meal as a mama was fish and chips, and Sprite.'

'Really?' Lanie sat down near Meredeth's feet, gave them a rub. 'Mine was Meredeth's home-cooking with Carey, with Violet it was fried chicken, biscuits and sweet corn.'

'Mine was pizza, though the twins seem to want

The door opened and Andrea came in to check Meredeth's blood pressure and temperature, read the fetal monitors. 'Looking good, Meredeth, you're cruising,' she told her, patted her shoulder with a gentle smile that didn't really reach her eyes.

Honey-Milk saw it too and gave her friend a look. 'Andy, everything okay?'

'Yeah, just...Daniel's been really weird lately, not like acting funny or lying about what he's doing, just...a little more wound up than usual.'

'It's almost Hallowe'en, right? People are starting to get twitchy, psychos take advantage of the mental vulnerability of Hallowe'en which means his free time is getting eaten up a lot more, isn't it?' Beckett pointed out, speaking from experience.

'I suppose. We do have the mandatory lab time for a week starting on the twentieth in addition to the usual Hallowe'en crazies, that could be it, too.'

'There you go.' Meredeth gestured with her IV-tubed hand, making the plastic pipes dance. 'I don't even bother trying to make plans with Javi from the twentieth to the thirty-first, I save myself the headache.'

Andrea nodded, then grumbled at her pager when it went off. The moment she was out of the room, Meredeth fluttered her hands and wiggled her toes in excitement. 'I know what's going on,' she sang, then remembering her promise to Daniel groaned. 'But I can't tell you.'

'Oh, it's so obvious girl,' Honey-Milk giggled. 'Daniel's going to pop the question, and I'm so excited for them. They're so cute together.'

'I know, and you can totally tell he's going to be a crier when he does it,' Lanie added, then went into doctor mode when the beeping of Meredeth's monitors increased slightly. 'Another one?'

'Yeah this one isn't so bad...no, wait, I lied, it is.'

As Beckett and Honey-Milk were sitting on either side of her, they took Meredeth's hands as she breathed through the contraction. Her face was flush from the effort but she made it through another one, and they pulled the loose strands of hair off of her face, patted her skin with the damp cloths. 'Where's Javi?' she sighed. 'I want my Javi.'

'Okay, honey.' Beckett stood up, kissed Meredeth's forehead. 'We love you.'

It was another seven minutes before Beckett came back with Esposito, but he wasn't alone. Following him into the room was Terrance, her grandmother's companion, looking travel-weary.

'Hello, Meredeth.'

'Terrance, hi. What...what are you doing here?'

'Your man called me, said I should come to New York because you're having your babies tonight. I got the first flight out.'

'You didn't have to do that.'

'Yes I did. Constance would have slapped me silly if I didn't check in on her _pige_ at a time like this.' He fished in his pockets, found his handkerchief to give to Meredeth as her tears spilled over. 'Here, now, lass, dry your eyes.'

'I miss her. I miss her so much. She should be here for this.'

'I know, it's not fair, but she'll keep an eye on you.' Terrance nodded, feeling the gut-grinding ache as he thought of Constance. 'I'll be around here if you need anything.'

'Thank you. Thanks, all of you but I'd like a little time just me and Javi,' Meredeth told them, looking around and hoping they wouldn't think her a bitch. Her prayers were answered when her friends nodded understandingly, filed out so it was just the parents to be left in the room. The moment Esposito sat down on Meredeth's bed, she pulled him in for a mind-melting kiss.

'Javi, I love you so much, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me.'

'I love you too Mere.' Esposito rubbed his thumb over her cheek. 'And it's me who's the lucky one, being so blessed to have a wife and lover who's also my very best friend.'

'Dammit, you're gonna make me cry again.'

'Let it out, then.' Esposito gently pushed her temple to his shoulder and felt her sob a little, some from the hormones, some from the over-extended emotions they were all feeling. 'Feel better?' he asked a few minutes later.

'Yeah, I do. I'm still scared something will happen.'

'If something happens, I'll be right there with you.' Esposito paused, studied her face and knew what it was that was bothering her. 'You want Tessi here, too, don't you?'

'I do. I want to see our little girl.'

'Okay. I'll take care of it.'

* * *

By three in the morning, Meredeth was holding steady at six centimetres and Esposito had gotten Ryan to go and pick Tessi up from his apartment; Kelsey stayed behind to watch Dell. The little girl was cranky at having her sleep disturbed but when she saw Meredeth in the hospital bed with the IV tubes, she was more confused than anything.

'Where babies, Mami? They domin' yet?'

'They are, but it takes time for them to come out of Mami's body.'

'How long I take?'

'Fifteen hours.'

At this knowledge, Tessi's tired eyes went wide. 'Thassa long time, Mami.'

'I know. Why don't you go back to sleep, princess, and pretty soon, you'll be a big sister.'

'Yea.' Tessi cuddled against Ryan's shoulder and was already fighting the yawns as Ryan took her back to the lounge with the rest of their family, leaving Esposito and Meredeth alone once more.

'I feel much better now, though...shit. Shit, shit, shit.'

'Another one?' Esposito went on alert at the sound of the monitor's increased beeping. The contractions were now six minutes apart, and Meredeth was almost due for her epidural. 'Okay, just breathe, breathe through it, Mere.'

'No! No, no, no, no, stop it!' she bellowed, and Esposito's gut went a little watery as he felt his finger-bones rub together. 'Fuck!'

'Mere, I'm getting Harvey or Andrea or someone, you need-'

'You move, you die! Just...wait...there.'

The beeping slowed once more and Meredeth flopped back against the bank of pillows. 'Okay,' she huffed out, 'now you can go and get someone.'

But there was no need, as Harvey and Daniel both were coming in, reading her chart. 'Time to see the caterpillar, Alice,' Daniel told her with a smile as he brought over his tray of supplies for giving her the epidural. 'Your blood pressure is high enough with the labour we can give you the legal max of drugs. Should be a most excellent trip.'

He helped Meredeth roll to her side and Esposito was ready to punch Daniel square in the face when he saw the little tear roll out of Meredeth's eye, heard her whimper a bit as Daniel inserted the catheter. She was gently rolled to her back again and Harvey snapped on the gloves to examine her progress.

'Looking good Meredeth, Boy Twin is definitely on his way down, and Girl Twin isn't going to be too far behind him once things get moving.'

'So nothing we can do but wait, Doctor?' Esposito asked.

'Nothing to do but wait.'

Harvey made a few more notations to her chart, as did Daniel, and they were out the door leaving Meredeth and Esposito alone together again.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy


	36. One of Each: 6 Minutes & 36 Seconds Old

Two hours and three centimetres later, Meredeth and Esposito had Ryan bringing Tessi in for a kiss good-bye. Even in her sleepy confusion, she heard the words 'babies coming soon' and was as excited as everyone else.

'See you soon, Mami,' she told them. 'See babies soon, too. Love you.'

'We all love you so much too, Tessi-boo.'

Ryan took the little girl out and a few minutes later Andrea and another orderly came to move Meredeth into the delivery room across the sky-walk.

'Hey Mere,' Esposito asked her as he sat down beside his wife, 'why do you call that little thing the sky-walk?'

'When I was a kid, my mother took me to this restaurant called Skyways Barbecue, but it had an elevated foot-bridge so you if you were on the southbound side of the highway, you could park in a lot and then walk on this bridge to get to the restaurant. Since it was Skyways Barbecue, I said we were taking the sky-walk to Skyways.'

'And now any elevated footbridge like that is a sky-walk?'

'Exactly. Oh, ouch. Owie, owie, fuck fuck fuck.'

'Okay, Javi's here, not to worry.' Esposito held her hand which she squeezed so tightly he had a mental cartoon image of his fingertips bursting like balloons. He modeled the breathing for her and shook his head with pride as she followed it. 'There's my girl, come on, just a little more...there. That's it.'

'How far apart now?'

'About...two and a half minutes, baby, not long,' he said after a glance at his watch. Five-twenty-two in the morning. She'd been in labour a lot less time than with Tessi, probably because there was so much less room inside with two babies. Surprisingly for himself, Esposito felt so much more calm about this birthing process than the first one, probably because Tessi had been the first one and she'd been so much longer in making her appearance. These little guys would be here inside of twelve hours, including the hour and a half of contractions Meredeth had been having before her water broke.

He drew her hand up to his lips. 'So, we are decided on those names?'

'Oh yeah. I've been calling them by their nicknames already when I'm alone. Keep telling that girl of ours to stop kicking her brother.'

'She'll be on ladies' night of UFC, or a Rockette.'

'And what about our boy?'

'Video game designer. He's absorbing how his sister is kicking him and getting ideas.'

Esposito laughed. 'You are minutes away from giving birth and still telling stories. I love you.'

'I love you too, Javi...oh...oh damn, damn, damn.' Meredeth puffed and sweated her way through another contraction. 'How long was that one?'

'About thirty seconds. You're almost there, my love.'

Harvey and Daniel entered the room then, both in their scrubs and passing a pair to Esposito. 'Time to check if the turkeys are ready to come out of the oven. Javier, you need to suit up this time around, as we are going into a delivery room from here.'

'Isn't this a delivery room?'

'It is, but we're going to an operation room so that if we do need to perform an emergency C-section to get the second baby out. A precaution only, like we talked about before,' Harvey reassured them both.

Meredeth looked at her husband, excitement flashing through her as another contraction hit. 'Javi, go get changed, baby, like now.'

He did so in record speed and was back holding his wife's hand before they'd left the room to move her across the hallway, where Esposito watched them move Meredeth onto the delivery bed. Daniel, in preparation for Esposito's position as Meredeth's support, removed the epidural catheter from her back and inserted a fresh one in her outer thigh so she would still have her medication during the pushing phase. while Andrea arranged the stirrups for Meredeth's feet to rest and placed the drop-sheets in the appropriate place in the eventuality that Meredeth's intestines evacuated themselves while she pushed. Other nurses and attendants got the scales and warming lamps ready for the babies to be weighed, measured and kept warm.

'Javier, you can get in behind Meredeth now,' Andrea instructed him, tying on her mask.

Esposito toed off his shoes once more and climbed in behind Meredeth, helping her sit up as she put her heels against the stirrups and taking her hands so they were palm-to-palm. 'Just like last, time, Meredeth,' he whispered to her, and was relieved when he heard her laugh, strained as it was.

'Well, not quite the same,' she replied, ending on a pained gasp. 'Javi, I think the epidural is wearing off.'

'It's not wearing off, Meredeth, the dose has been lowered to keep your blood pressure in check,' Daniel reassured her, looking at her monitors. 'We're good to go Harvey,' he told the doctor as he stepped in from the scrubbed room, and Andrea put fresh gloves on Harvey's hands.

Harvey nodded, moved over to take a seat at Meredeth's feet where he saw his patient was ready. 'Okay, Meredeth, time to bring your little boy into the world, you ready?'

'Yes.'

'Okay, you're going to push for thirty seconds on three, ready? One, two, three.'

Meredeth bore down and pushed as hard as she could, focusing her energy into her lower body and letting out a thin cry as she did. The drugs weren't as strong this time and she was feeling a hell of a lot more.

'Three, two, one, and rest, Meredeth, rest,' Harvey instructed her.

'You're doing great baby, just great,' Esposito encouraged her. 'Nice deep breath.'

'It hurts, Javi,' Meredeth whimpered. 'I...it hurts.'

'It's okay Mere, just breathe right now.'

Harvey flicked his glance up at Meredeth. 'Okay, another big push Mere, just like the one before, thirty seconds on three. One, two, three.'

Squeezing her eyes shut, Meredeth pushed again, and this time let out a full yell for the entire thirty seconds; her hands clenched her husband's tightly, her back rounded out against his chest. Esposito gave her the resistance she needed as her heels dug into the stirrups while he marveled at her strength.

'Good, that's good Meredeth, and rest again.' Harvey held out his hand for a sterile wipe to clear away birthing fluid that was escaping as Meredeth pushed. 'Another couple of pushes and the head will be out. Daniel, Andrea, please take Meredeth's legs.'

The nurses each took their positions, easing Meredeth's feet out of the stirrups to give her resistance as she pushed on the next contraction and Esposito let go one hand to push the hair off of her forehead while she rested.

'The baby's starting to crown, Meredeth,' Harvey told her in his steady, sure tone. 'You're going to feel this one in a big way, but you can do it, I need you to give me a hard push for thirty seconds again. One two three go.'

Meredeth did as she was told and held nothing back as the waves of pain swamped her. 'Is...is the head out yet?' she panted when the contraction ended.

'Almost, Meredeth,' Andrea told her. 'The next-'

She was cut off as Meredeth let out an almost inhuman yell. 'God! Javi!'

'Right here, my love, Javi's here.'

'Push again, Meredeth.'

Harvey's encouragement was unflagging, as was Esposito's through the next two pushes, as the head worked its way out. 'Suction,' the doctor demanded, and used the bulb syringe to clear the baby's nostrils and airways. 'Another push will get the shoulders out, Meredeth.'

'Come on, Mere, that's my superhero,' Esposito told her; his eyes bugged out when Meredeth dug her nails into the flesh of his thighs as she pushed again and he was certain the scrub-pants had holes in them now. 'No name-calling this time?'

'Shut your fucking mouth, you stupid son of a bitching bastard!' she shouted, as tears of strain coursed down her face.

'There she is, that's my dirty girl.'

Harvey chuckled as Meredeth swore her way through another contraction. 'One more and you've got a son, Meredeth.'

She bore down and pushed with all her might until she heard it - their baby boy's voice boldly stating he was here.

'He's here!' Esposito laughed, kissing Meredeth's temple fiercely. 'Our boy's here!'

'And he's a handsome man like his daddy,' Harvey said with a smile, clamping the cord for Esposito to cut; the snip was done and Andrea passed him to his mother in a soft blue blanket.

'Hey, Mister Mouth, what's going on, little dude?' she laughed through her tears, rocking him gently as he wriggled like a little fish. 'Oh I know, you've got to give us a piece of your mind about sharing that space with someone else, huh?'

'Hey, _mijo_, it's your daddy,' Esposito added, felt his eyes spill over when he saw his son calm and search for the source of those familiar voices. 'You know us, don't you? It's Mami and Daddy, yeah you definitely know us.'

'Guys,' Daniel interjected in his surprisingly soft tone, 'I know you want to cuddle him, but Meredeth's monitors are saying we don't have much time before the next baby arrives, so we need to get him looked after so you can bring his little sister into the world.'

'Okay. Javi-'

Esposito shook his head. 'I'm staying right here with you, Meredeth.'

They both watched as Andrea took the boy twin over to the scales and heat lamps to keep him warm while they waited for the girl twin to come along. The lull in activity made Meredeth feel like she might faint or float away, she wasn't sure which.

'Meredeth you did just great for the first one,' Harvey told her, still on his chair by her feet. 'The girl baby will be a lot easier to handle, because her big brother's paved the way, as it were. Just rest for a moment, she's on her way, you'll be pushing in about five to eight minutes.'

'Javi,' she sighed, 'go check on our boy.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah.'

Esposito gave her another kiss on the temple, then climbed out to let Meredeth fall back and rest for a few minutes. In his sock feet, he went over to see his little boy, so tiny but so full of life, and swiped a hand under his eyes. 'My boy,' he murmured.

'Do you have a name picked out?' Andrea asked and Esposito nodded, told it to her so she could note it down on the birth record.

'Okay, little mister Esposito, born at five forty-six am on October seventeen, we are going to get all your info down, but right now I think Daddy's needed back over with Mami,' Andrea judged from the movement by Meredeth's bed.

Esposito hovered his hand over his son's chest, and when he grabbed the tip of his father's finger, Esposito gave the tiny knuckles the lightest of butterfly kisses. 'I'll be back in a few minutes, I gotta go make sure that your little sister gets here safely.'

He walked back over, where sure enough, Meredeth was being encouraged into the comfortable birthing position again; Esposito slipped in behind her, kissed the back of her neck. 'You've already got the big boy out, this will be cake, my love.'

'Okay Meredeth, time to push again,' Harvey told her, and wasn't surprised that with two thirty-second pushes, the baby was already crowning. 'There we go, there we go.'

'I can't, I can't, I'm sorry, Javi, I can't,' Meredeth sobbed as she felt the baby crowning yet again, and began to weep.

'Yes you can, Mere, you already did the hard part, come on, baby.' Esposito had no idea where the words of encouragement were coming from, as he didn't even know how they were both still awake.

'Meredeth, the head is already out, another one should get the shoulders out too,' Harvey told her. 'Another big thirty-second push, on three. One, two, three.'

Somewhere, deep inside, she found the strength and with a might kick at Daniel Meredeth pushed again, then suddenly felt the pressure lift and the cry of a second baby filled the delivery room.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	37. All in the Family: 45 & 39 Minutes Old

There was nothing like waiting for babies to be born. As Lanie, Beckett and Honey-Milk had five between them, they knew all about it; they took turns in the maternity suite with Meredeth, and keeping an eye on Tessi, who had curled up into a little ball on the couch of the lounge with her turtle, so turned around and confused by all the activity and movement but so desperate not to be left out of anything.

Lanie, for her part, tried not to think about how much she wanted to sleep which only served to make her even more tired. She snuggled against Dave, though his shoulders weren't nearly as comfortable a pillow as they looked; he was deceptively bony in unexpected places. 'I hope the babies get here soon,' she mumbled, and hear him laugh low in his throat.

'I bet they said the same thing when Carey was born, and Violet for that matter.'

'Except neither of our children were night-hawks, not like the Esposito babies.'

'Keep it down,' Beckett grumbled, her hand stroking mechanically over Tessi's curls; the little girl had curled herself into Beckett's lap just to be close to another human being since Arturo wasn't near be. 'I'm trying to not sleep over here, and I've got a little girl needing her rest.'

'I think we can all agree that it's hell waiting for little ones,' Castle said and earned the evil eye from the rest of them. 'What?'

'You're not a cop or a medical worker on shift work, how are you more alert than the rest of us?'

'I have a very unnatural ability to adjust my bodily needs as per the situation. It comes in handy when traveling, and in times like this, it seems.' Castle glanced at his watch. It was nearly six thirty in the morning, it was over an hour since they took Meredeth down to push, making a dark sickness creep into his gut. Had something gone wrong? Did Meredeth need an emergency C-section? Or worse, because Esposito would be the first person rushing up to the lounge to tell them any news.

'Hey.' Beckett put her hand on her husband's, squeezed it tightly. 'You okay?'

'No. I can't stand hospitals.'

'Really? You?'

Castle nodded. 'Ever since I was a kid. Something about them flipped me out.'

'How did you get from there to being the guy who organizes the troops like it's a military mission and takes care of everyone, makes sure we have food and things to keep us occupied so we don't go into tailspins?'

'When I was about twenty-two or so, a group of us went to Aspen for New Years and we were all walking in town, and a drunk driver plowed into us, hit one of the girls near the edge of the sidewalk and she needed to go to the emergency room. Everyone else was freaking out, and I asked the paramedic what I could do to help, he said go to the twenty-four-seven, get some food and magazines for your friends to keep them going while you wait.' Castle sighed. 'I spent nearly an hour there, and when I got back to the hospital, everyone was thrilled to see me, and spent the rest of the time doing puzzles and crosswords and playing cards while they ate chips and sandwiches until the doctors came and told us our friends was in bad shape but lucky, because she was going to be fine. My way of staying occupied when things go on at the hospital is making sure others are.'

'My hero,' Beckett sighed, giving his cheek a kiss.

'What do you think they're going to want to eat when Meredeth gets the all clear?'

'Well, she does love pizza, Mexican and sandwiches. And French and Greek and burgers,' Beckett thought out loud. 'I don't know, Meredeth's such a foodie, it's hard to pin down some times.'

'I have a question,' Honey-Milk yawned. 'Where are Esposito's parents? I know Terrance went to his hotel room to wait for news but what about Alejandro and Rosalita?'

'They were in Puerto-Rico on a trip for the bakery,' Ryan told her, 'though truth be told, I got the feeling that given Meredeth's stress level about having the babies safely, that's not such a bad thing.'

'Do they even know the babies were coming?' Dave wanted to know.

'Yeah, Lili called them from home to tell them, Rosalita is on her way back and Alejo is catching the soonest possible flight so he can make sure the business stuff is taken care of.'

'Mami? Daddy?'

Bleary-eyed, Tessi stirred, asking for her parents and felt an almost primal fear when she woke up and didn't see them. 'Mami?' she asked with a note of panic.

'It's okay, sweetheart, it's Katie, Katie's right here.'

'Datie, where Mami? Where Daddy?'

'They're still waiting for the babies to arrive, princess.'

Tessi scrunched up her face as tears began to leak out of her eyes. 'I tired, wan' babies, wan' go home.'

'I know.' Beckett cradled and cuddled the exhausted toddler against her shoulder, humming lightly to try and soothe her as she cried softly. 'Jenny, is there any way to find out what's going on?'

'I'll see what I can do.'

Honey-Milk kissed Ryan's cheek, stood up to go to the nurses' station where she found one of the night nurses on the phone and scribbling notes into a chart. 'Excuse me, is there any way you can get information on a patient update for me?'

'Name?'

'Meredeth Esposito, she's my sister-in-law.'

'One moment.'

The nurse went back to her notes, taking down the information from whomever was on the other end of the phone, and Honey-Milk sighed with equal parts fatigue and impatience. She glanced up and down the hall, then paused when she saw Daniel in his scrubs walking towards her. Without waiting for the nurse at the desk, she sprinted forward. 'Dan, what's going on, why haven't we heard anything about Mere and Javi and the babies? We're kind-of losing our minds waiting here.'

'I know and I'm sorry, but Javier wasn't leaving Meredeth's side. She's just come out of recovery and he was in the nursery with the babies.'

'And they're okay?'

'Hang on, I was on my way to the lounge anyways and it's easier to say it once to everyone.'

'You're right, I'm sorry. I'm not a nurse tonight, I'm just a friend.'

'Well, then, from one friend to another, I'm guessing Meredeth has told you about my...plans?' Daniel said as they went back to the lounge and Honey-Milk chuckled.

'I guessed myself when she said you've been a little tense lately. Is there any time when you're not going to see her at all?'

'After Hallowe'en, she's going to the Caymans for ten days, she was asked as a favour by one of her friends from Japan to supervise an underwater film set. She gets back on the fourteenth.'

'Then play it off and tell her you're just going to miss her,' Honey-Milk suggested, then shut her mouth when they went into the lounge. 'Excuse me, everyone,' Daniel said in his patient tone and everyone in the lounge, even the new big sister, focused on him. 'There's a pair of babies down the hall asking for their big sister.'

'Hear that Tessi?' Beckett said even as her eyes filled up. 'Your babies are here.'

'Yea! My babies here!'

'And I pulled a few strings with Harvey, Tessi gets to go in first with Kate, and the rest of you all get ten minutes in there together as per Meredeth and Javier's request, then it's out the door until regular visiting hours.'

'Understood,' Ryan said.

Beckett followed Daniel out with Tessi in her arms, down to Meredeth's room; he opened the door and she was surprised to see Meredeth and Esposito both wide awake each cradling a baby in their arms. The one in Meredeth's arms was wrapped in yellow blanket with blue number-12s on it while the bundle in Esposito's was in blue with yellow twelves.

'Guys, big sister is here,' Daniel whispered and both looked up, smiled widely.

'Hi, princess,' Meredeth said softly, turning her body slightly so her daughter could sit down on the bed and see her new siblings. 'Come have a seat.'

'Wish one, Mami?' Tessi asked quietly - she'd been around Duncan, Mal and RJ enough to know that you always whispered near babies - as she studied the tiny little face. 'Shello or Po-kee?'

'This is your little brother, Tessi, and Daddy has your little sister.'

'Hi li'l bo, I Tessi,' she introduced herself with a little wave. 'Mami, I moosh?'

'Very gently.'

The little girl leaned forward and rather than laying her lips on his brow, Tessi touched the tip of her nose to his. 'I gennel.'

'That's very nice, Tessi-boo,' Esposito managed, watching three of his four precious gems together. 'You want to come and give your little sister a kiss too?'

Tessi repeated the process on the girl twin, then glanced up when the others came in the room. 'I big sisser now,' she said proudly. 'Hafa be die-it.'

'Understood, baby,' Dave laughed. 'Oh, congratulations you guys, they're so beautiful.'

'Yeah, yeah, that comes later,' Ryan interjected. 'We wanna know about those names, since you've been holding out on us.'

Meredeth glanced at her husband, shared his smile. 'We wanted to wait until the six of you and Tessi were here to tell you, and until they were here as well, but...we decided to keep it in the family with the names. Ladies first, Daddy?'

'Yeah. This,' he said adjusting his hold on his little girl to show her off to everyone, 'is Katrina Elenia Genevieve Esposito.'

'And this little man is Alejo Ricardo Reynaldo Esposito,' the proud daddy added with a wide grin.

'We did a little adjusting to the names here and there, but you get the idea,' Meredeth said rather lamely, as all of them began to sniffle. 'We love you all so much, and I know without you we probably wouldn't have made it through a high-risk pregnancy with our sanity intact.'

'I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you,' Dave managed, as Lanie wept against his shoulder. 'There's no better honour in the world than being someone's namesake.'

'We're calling them Leo and Trini for short with Tessi,' Esposito added. 'Can you say Leo, Tessi?'

'Leo.'

'And Trini?'

'Tee-nee.'

'That's very good, that's very close.'

'Can I have a hold?' Castle asked, and Meredeth passed him little Leo. He was so little, even smaller than RJ was. 'How big?' he asked.

'Leo was porky, he's six pounds two ounces and fifteen inches long. Trini was five pounds eleven and seventeen inches long. It was why she was so kicky, she's all legs,' Esposito explained, passing Trini to Honey-Milk and Ryan and swiping his hand under his eyes and nose. 'My beautiful babies, my prince and my duchess to go with my princess and my queen.'

'They ve-wee tiny,' Tessi observed, then climbed up into bed beside her mother. 'Yea Mami, good shob.'

'Thanks my love.'

'I 'tay here?'

'Actually, princess, you get to go to Dell's house with Jenny and Kevin. You're going to have a nap, get a snack and some fresh clothes, and then when Dell is home from school, you and Jenny and Dell will get to come for a much longer visit,' Meredeth told her. 'Mami and Daddy both need to rest, it's hard work having babies.'

'O-day. Babies need seep too?'

'Exactly.'

'O-day.' Tessi waited until the various grown-ups had all had a chance to coo at her new brother and sister, and then waited until they were back in their twin-sized bassinet to give them each one more nose-rub 'moosh'. 'Nigh-nigh Tee-nee, nigh-nigh Leo. You 'tay here, seep. I see you soon. Love you.'

Tessi took Ryan and Honey-Milk's hands and walked out with them; it was the last sight Meredeth had before she finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy


	38. New Friends

'Look at you guys, you are such a pair of cuddle-bugs.'

Esposito murmured to his babies as they napped in their shared bassinet, Trini snuggled up beside Leo with her little fist near his heart, as if to be a little reminder that he was going to pay for it if he hogged all the space again. In the bed beside them, Meredeth rested fitfully; even with the sedative, she didn't snore. Their daughter, well their _oldest_ daughter Esposito thought with a little smile, sounded like a little buzz-saw which she'd gotten straight from him. These two, it seemed, were sighers like Meredeth.

'There's a tonne of people who can't wait to meet you. Not just big people like Mami and Daddy but other ones closer to your size. Your cousins Rosie and Duncan, and there's Carey and Violet, and RJ, and of course Dell Ryan. He loves you and your sister very much.'

Trini gurgled, kicked a little in her sleep, and Esposito's heart melted. 'I know, it's gotta be nice having this much room to move around, there Jell-O, isn't it? Kinda hard to do that when you're sharing accommodations inside Mami with big brother, huh?'

Now it was Leo who gurgled a little and began to stir, blinking his eyes. 'Hi there, little bro, sure is nice to see you. You getting hungry?'

'I know I am.'

Esposito glanced over, saw Meredeth was also blinking her eyes to wake herself up. 'Good morning my queen.'

'What time is it?'

'About eleven thirty, you've been out for about five and a half hours. Tessi's fine, too, she called my cell with Honey-Milk about fifteen minutes ago. She said she had a surprise for the babies when she comes to visit.'

'She's drawn them a picture I bet,' Meredeth giggled, then winced a little at the ache in her downstairs. It didn't hurt double as she thought it would with two babies coming out but then again, Trini had practically slid out because Leo had ploughed the road, as it were. She felt the gurgle in her stomach, rubbed her hand there. 'I hope Harvey clears me to eat soon.'

'What are you feeling?'

'Fish. Big ol' hunk of halbiut fried in deliciousness and some big steak cut fries with cheese curds and gravy, and a boat of coleslaw, the kind with mayo, not vinegar.'

'I'll see what I can do.'

Meredeth nodded, shifted her legs. 'I'm so proud of you, Javi, you were a superhero in there.'

'You did the hard part,' he replied, leaning in for a kiss.

'What about your parents, I thought they'd be here pressed up against the nursery glass.'

'It was my mother's quarterly trip to the island for supplies for the bakery. Papa went with her, and Lili called them when I called her and Cam last night, they're on their way back as soon as possible.' Esposito looked down when he saw that Leo had awoken and was looking around as he fussed a little bit. 'Hey, little man, you wanna see Mami? Here we are.'

He laid Leo in his mother's arms, laughing a little as he saw his son make the fish-face just like Tessi had when she'd first smelled her mother nearby. When Meredeth slipped her hospital gown down, Leo latched on right away; his fingers flexed against Meredeth's breast and he exhaled deeply in satisfaction. 'Look at that, we already have one thing in common,' he teased her.

'Funny man, no wonder I love you, Javi.'

'I love you too, Mere.'

There was a knock on the door and Esposito passed Meredeth a receiving blanket to cover herself up while Leo continued downing his lunch before he went to answer. He smiled, opened the door wide to Dave, Carey and Violet; both of the little ones had gifts in their hands. 'Hey guys, come on in.'

'Pizzant.' Violet held up her gift bag with a smile, her dark eyes shining in her friendly smooth face. 'Pizzant, Hoppy.'

'That's so thoughtful, Violet thank you.'

'We are ah-cited to see our new buddies,' Carey declared in a stage whisper. 'Violet, careful,' he added when he saw the little girl toddle towards the bed on fast, wobbly legs.

'Babies!' she said excitedly. 'Hi-hi, Me-wee, babies!'

'Hello, sweetheart, you are getting so big.'

'She is fourteen months old already,' Dave chuckled as he caught up with his speedy little girl.

'And her eyes match,' Carey added, 'not like mine. We can see'um?'

'Yes, but careful, they're very small.'

'Sssss.' Violet held her chubby little finger to her lips. 'Soff.'

'That's right, we speak softly,' Dave smiled, picking her up and setting her on his hip as Meredeth continued nursing Leo so they watched Esposito and Trini, who was blinking her eyes and trying to focus on the new voices in the room. 'Look at that gorgeous little thing. What do you think Violet?'

'Diny.'

'Yes, she is very tiny,' he agreed. 'How are you feeling, Mere?'

'Good. Lanie's at work?'

'Yeah, but she's in the lab, hold on. Carey, you have my phone?'

'Uh-huh, I push Mama's number.' The boy passed his dad the cellphone with a smile. 'I am a big help.'

'Thanks. Hey, sweetie, you're on speaker,' Dave told her, holding up the phone.

Though the microphone seemed small, everyone could hear Lanie's voice. 'Hey girl, how are the babies?'

'Trini's just waking up and Leo's having a snack,' Esposito replied.

'Let Violet go first, Carey,' Lanie told her son, and Carey nodded. 'I'll be by when I'm off shift tonight, Mere, and I'm bringing something just for mama, okay?'

'Okay.'

Violet stretched on her tiptoes, passed Meredeth the bag. 'Here.'

'Thank you.'

'Weck-im.'

Meredeth held Leo in one arm, pulled the onesies out of the bag. There was one in a powder blue and one in cotton candy pink, each saying 'Deja-Cute'. 'These are gorgeous, Lanie and Violet, thank you very much, I know they're going to love them.'

'You're very welcome. Okay, Carey it's your turn.'

Carey passed over the bag and tried to peek under the blanket. 'I see him?'

'Carey, no, that's rude,' Dave said, which had Lanie's voice sharpening.

'What's he doing?'

'He's trying to look under the receiving blanket to see the baby, but, ah, Meredeth's nursing Leo.'

'Carey.'

'Yes, Mama.'

Esposito pressed his lips together to hold in the laugh that even over the phone, Lanie still wore the pants in the Parrish-Robbins household. He reached over to grab the bag off the bed where Carey had put it and dove in, came up with another pair of onsies. These were both white, with 'I'm the Evil Twin' in bright red across the little chest. 'Oh I think these are going to come in very handy.'

'You like 'em?' Carey asked sweetly, blinking his bi-coloured eyes.

'They're fantastic.'

'Okay, guys, I gotta go, I need to start processing my latest customer,' Lanie told them. 'I'll be by later, love you all. Phone off.'

Dave's cell ended the call, and he reached over to give Esposito a hearty hug. 'Seriously, congrats, bro. You've got a beautiful family.'

'Thanks, man.'

Carey tugged on his dad's hand. 'We see Tessi, too?'

'Dizzy,' Violet added, her face just as eager as her brother's.

'She'll be here later, guys, she is at Dell and Mal's house right now. But we'll invite you over soon for play time, okay?' Esposito reassured them and the young ones nodded eagerly before they said their byes to the babies and left with Dave.

They were out the door not a moment too soon, as Meredeth felt Leo pull away and when she went to switch sides as she'd always done with Tessi, it was a no-go, so she uncovered Leo and held him up. 'Daddy? You want to do the honours?'

He looked down and saw that Trini had awoken and was now sending up the call for food as well. 'Looks like it's all me, anyways.'

'Okay, Leo, you're going to Daddy, and Trini my gem you're hanging with me.'

Meredeth rested her new little girl against her body and she latched on like a vampiric leach. She watched her daughter, then her husband with her son, and giggled. 'How are we doing so far, Javi?'

'I think we're doing okay. What happens if they're hungry at the same time though?'

'Something called a football hold, Kate told me RJ was a fan of that, it's like you hold the baby so his or her mouth is where it needs to be and instead of the body being parallel to yours, they're cradled in your arm like you are heading for the end zone.'

'Oh.' Esposito made a mental note to look it up in their expecting-and-raising twins baby book as he patted Leo's little back. He heard the little pop of the burp, and laughed he heard the other muted noise. 'Little bro's first fart,' he told Meredeth, who joined in laughing with him.

When Trini had finished feeding, Meredeth was yawning again, so Esposito put the snoozing infants back in their buddy-crib so their mother could rest; he himself managed to catch an hour himself. He hadn't slept in almost two days, owing to the fact that he'd forced himself to stay awake with the twins since Andrea had been on a double and hadn't been able to stay so that he might get some rest too.

He put his head on his arms and leaning forward dropped off for a few minutes. At least, it felt like, because the next thing he knew his wife was stroking her hands over his smooth head and murmuring, 'Wake-up, Daddy, we've got company coming.'

'Wha-huh?'

Meredeth was sitting up, smiling at him as she cuddled Trini close. 'Honey-Milk just called, they are just outside the hospital and our girl is very excited to see us.'

'Oh, okay.' Esposito sat up, scrubbed his hands over his face, then looked in on Leo. 'Brace yourself, Alejo and you too Trini, your biggest fans are on their way, so enjoy these moments because once they see you, you'll never ever be rid of them.'

The door opened and Harvey came in, followed by a rather bedraggled looking Andrea; the former was in his scrubs and looked far more refreshed than his nurse. 'How are we doing so far, Esposito family?'

'It's going to be a juggling act but we've got the best first-born baby girl whose going to help us out,' Meredeth replied.

'That's nice,' Andrea yawned, scratching her head. 'Sorry. I'd just gotten home, and gotten to sleep when I got paged in to work.'

'I hear ya,' Esposito concurred, taking Trini into his arms from Meredeth so Harvey could do his exam of her healing rate. 'My captain actually sent me home on official orders after we had our false alarm here.'

'Daniel had made waffles and finally he owned up to being such a weirdo lately.'

'Oh?' Even when she was receiving a pelvic exam, Meredeth's gossip radar was on alert. 'What'd he say?'

'He's cranky because I'm going away for a week and a half to the Caymans, he doesn't like sleeping alone much anymore now that we're living together, and because we're also having our first Thanksgiving living together in a few weeks. We're having people over on the Friday for a full turkey dinner, so that's got him a little warped.'

'Oh yeah,' Meredeth agreed, sitting up while Harvey made some notes on her chart. 'You wanna talk scary, our first do like that after Javi moved in, we had his parents, sister and brother-in-law coming, the first time they'd been to the house. Then my grandmother showed up a day early so it was the first time Espositos and she met, _and_ there was also the added bonus of telling everyone we were moving together all in one fell swoop.'

'Wow.' Andrea blinked. 'Suddenly, a little bit of turkey with a few nurses and doctors doesn't seem so huge.'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	39. Blessings Big and Small

There was another knock on the door, and this time it was Rosalita and Alejandro, along with Terrance, who came in the room; the Esposito in-laws looked like they'd walked from Puerto Rico back to Manhattan, but they had gift bags in their hands, as did Terrance. Rosalita offered her daughter-in-law a sympathetic smile.

'Look at you, Meredeth, oh they're so beautiful,' she sighed, a hand on her chest. 'What a lovely picture you make, oh I'm so proud of you.'

'Um, Mami, I did help her out a little,' Esposito teased his mother as he held Trini against his chest. 'Is _buela _being funny?'

Since Trini simply wiggled and sighed a little, he chuckled as his father pulled up a chair. 'So which one is this?' Alejandro asked, studying the tiny bundle.

'This is Katrina Elenia Genevieve Esposito, Papa. Little Trini.'

'Katrina was my mother, my father would call her Trini to tease her.'

'We named her after Kate Beckett,' Esposito told his father. 'Her, Lanie and Jenny, and it was a nice bonus that it was the same name as my 'buela.'

'Is she the one who is the Black-Hawks fan?' Meredeth asked, her hand on the side of the bassinet where Leo slept.

'Yes, but right now, I want to me this handsome man,' Rosalita replied; she put the gift bags in Meredeth's reach on the bed, prodded Terrance forward with her. 'We have little Trini and who is her big brother?'

'This is Alejo Ricardo Reynaldo Esposito, and he is a big brother by six minutes only. Terrance, would you like to hold him?'

At Rosalita's not-so-subtle elbow in his ribs, Terrance stepped towards Meredeth's bed, held out his arms to take the baby.

'Hey, there, little guy. You are quite the handsome devil, just like your daddy aren't you? And you've got two sisters to look out for, but I know you'll come through. You've got a little of my Constance in you and you'll let them go on dates, but you'll make sure you have an undercover friend at the movie theatre or restaurant or arcade won't you?'

'I think they're both going to have brown eyes, like Daddy,' Meredeth told him, and Esposito added, 'That's fine because I've already got two blue-eyed goddesses in my life.' Esposito glanced up as the door opened again and his face split into a grin. 'Hey look who it is!'

'Mami!' Tessi raced into the room, over to climb onto the bed to give her mother a hug. 'You look sah-leepy.'

'It's been a busy morning, princess,' she replied, then glanced up to see Beckett, RJ Honey-Milk and Dell with her. 'You brought some guests I see.'

'Uh-huh. We see Datie and RJ downers.'

'She means down-suh-tairs, Meredeth,' Dell said, setting his back-pack down gently and walking over to the bassinet. 'Where are the tuh-wins, Meredeth?'

'Leo is with Terrance and Trini is with her daddy.'

Sensing the room had become overfull, Terrance passed Leo back to his mother and gave her forehead a tender fatherly kiss. 'I'm proud of you Meredeth, and you remember, whenever you and your family want to come to Florida, I'm a phone call away.'

'Thank you, Terrance. I really mean it.'

'Anytime.'

He slipped out, along with Rosalita and Alejo who promised to come back once the other guests were gone, though Esposito knew his parents well and would find them in the maternity ward lounge. They'd missed waiting at the hospital for the birth, they weren't going to leave until they'd had their full and proper visit. But for now, he focused his energy on the people in the room, specifically the fact that his daughter was there and smiling excitedly like it was Christmas morning.

'Daddy, I hold Tee-nee?' Tessi asked, blinking her big blue eyes. 'I be shennel.'

'Actually, Tessi, your little brother was asking for you,' Meredeth jumped in, remembering a section from her baby books that little siblings should hold the baby with lots of cushioning around. 'Why don't you hop up here and hold him?'

'O-day. Tee-nee, I be back.'

Tessi reached out her little finger and tapped the tip of Trini's nose lightly, then hopped up on the bed beside her mother and made her arms into a shape resembling a basketball hoop. 'Dell show me how, Mami.'

'Did he?'

'Uh-huh, we have been puh-racticing all the way over,' Dell confirmed, then sat in the chair beside Esposito. 'Hi little sis-uh-ter. You are so puh-retty, you are. We have gifts for you and Ah-Leo that we worked on with my mama.'

Meredeth smiled in appreciation as she adjusted Tessi's arms, then carefully laid Leo in his sister's lap. 'There we are.'

'Hafa hold his head, right?' she asked, cupping her little palm to the back of his noggin.

'Exactly, he's too little right now, he can't do it on his own.'

'Sssh, Leo, I Tessi, I big sisser. It's o-day, I here,' Tessi crooned to her brother when he fussed a little. 'You so little, need lossa milk.'

'He does. And when he needs a bottle, you'll help me, right?'

'Oh yes, Mama, I big sisser, my shob to help. Here. He dermin'.'

Meredeth took back Leo as was was squirming in his sister's arms and settled when he smelled his mother, felt her heart beat against his chest. He yawned a little and Tessi made a cute little face at him.

'Mama, he seepy, he hafa nap.'

'I think that's a good idea, Tessi. You want to help me tuck him in?'

Esposito and the others watched as she put Leo in the bassinet and drew it close so Tessi could help her wrap the blanket around his tiny body. Since Trini was also yawning, he tucked her in with Leo and kissed her forehead. 'You guys get some rest, there's going to be a lot more visitors soon,' he murmured to his children, then turned to see his other friends, patted his knee. 'Dellarino, come sit by me.'

'Okay, Javi, in a minute.' Dell dropped his backpack by Esposito's chair, went over to his mother and lightly pulled her hand. 'Mama, me an' Tessi have to give Meredeth and Javi the puh-resent for the babies.'

'What do we say when asking for things?'

'Puh-lease may Tessi an' me give the puh-resent to Meredeth and Javi?'

'That was very nice.' Honey-Milk reached into her bag and drew out a rather large, flat wrapped object, which she passed to Dell; the little boy handed it over to Tessi who set it in Meredeth's lap.

'Here, Mami.' The new big sister's grin was luminous as she poked the package with her fingers. 'Open up.'

'Can Daddy help?'

When she nodded, Esposito moved his chair over so he was sitting beside Meredeth and they ripped into the paper together. When they saw what was inside, both felt tears rush into their eyes and threaten to spill over.

It was a collage, framed and under glass, of all Tessi's artwork that included the babies. All of it was there: the first picture she drew with Dell of the dinosaurs keeping away germs, the family portrait of the Esposito family with the purple babies because they hadn't known when Tessi drew it what kinds they were having; she'd even gotten very sophisticated and drew a picture of Meredeth have a sonogram reading, as was evident from the picture of two little babies on a TV screen. Underneath each hand-drawn sketch was a little caption courtesy of Honey-Milk.

'Leo an' Tee-nee see an' 'memer me,' Tessi explained.

'I helped Tessi with the picture of seein' the babies inside your tummy, Meredeth,' Dell added proudly with his patent charming smile. 'She is a very good artist.'

'This is beautiful, I think we'll have to hang this right over their crib, so they can fall asleep looking at their sister's art and think of how much she loves them.' Esposito had managed to keep the tears from falling, but not Honey-Milk and Beckett, who had been so quiet holding RJ they'd almost forgotten about her. He wrapped his arm around Meredeth's shoulders, kissed her cheek. 'We have an amazing child, Meredeth.'

'We do,' she agreed with a watery laugh, and pulled Tessi in for a tight, squeezing hug; she could feel Tessi's breath on her neck and her hands on her back patting in the same soothing strokes she used when Tessi was sick or upset.

'There, there, Mami,' she said, in a tone so close to Meredeth's it made the control Esposito had managed to hold on to slip from his grasp like a greasy rope. His shoulders shuddered as the emotions stormed through him. Then it was his turn to feel Tessi's embrace, her little lips on his cheek.

'No tears, Daddy, 'mile. We have babies now,' she told him.

'Yeah, princess, we have the babies now.'

'If you want, we can leave, let you have some family time,' Becket volunteered, glancing towards the door.

'No, no,' Esposito scoffed and Meredeth shook her head in agreement. 'Friendly faces are always welcome.'

'Guess what we did in su-chool today, Javi.' Always a conversationalist, Dell picked up the word-torch to bring the focus around as Esposito went back to his own chair beside Meredeth.

'What did you do in school today?'

'We went to the lib-uh-rary. It's giantic!' Dell gestured widely with his arms. 'Everywhere books, books and more books, and you know what?'

'What?'

'They're fuh-ree. Not to keep, jus' borrow for a week.'

Meredeth settled back against her pillows, kept Tessi in the space made by the crook of her body. 'What kinds of books?'

'Books on everything. Dinosaurs and the puh-lanets and bugs and cars and suh-torybooks too.' High on his discovery of this sacred treasure trove of learning and knowledge, Dell leaned forward. 'I even got a card so I can borrow them.'

'Maybe one day if you know you're going to see Tessi you might pick out something to read to her, and then you can read it to the babies, too.'

'That is a guh-reat idea!'

Meredeth laughed at his enthusiasm as she felt a huge rumble in her stomach. 'Oh man, I need some eats, I don't know about the rest of you.'

There was another knock on the door and with the timing of a magician, Castle came in with a few bags of food and Meredeth wanted to start crying all over again when she smelled it - English style fish and chips, with lots of coleslaw, and even some Diet Coke, as it was softer on the stomach than the real stuff.

'Did someone order the fish?' he joked, and the others set about getting the recyclable paper plates and cutlery out to feed the crowd in the room. 'I looked in on Arturo for you as well, and he's going to be very excited to see his family home soon.'

'Artie 'tay wit' me, Mami?' Tessi asked, stabbing a French-fry with her fork and blowing on it to cool it down. 'He 'tay my room?'

'I think he will, princess, you're his little girl.'

'I no' li'l, I big sisser.'

Honey-Milk chuckled; her son had gone through the same phase when Mallory was first born. Everyone was still calling him little and Dell had been very quick to straighten them out that he was the big brother now. 'Tessi, did you tell Mami what else you got to do today?'

'I help Shenny follin' socks!'

'Did you really?'

'Oh!' Castle exclaimed, dropped his fork to fish his phone out of his pocket. A few quick presses of buttons and he had Alexis on video-Skype. 'Hey sweetie, you're on conference!'

'Hi everyone!' Alexis' voice was a little on the tinny side but the sweetness of it had everyone smiling. 'So, what are their names?'

'Alejo Ricardo Reynaldo and Katrina Elenia Genevieve Esposito, and that's the order they came in,' Beckett told her. 'Little Leo and Trini Esposito.'

'Those are beautiful names, you guys, I can't wait to spoil them rotten at Christmas. You think they'd like Burberry or Chanel onsies?'

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	40. Unusual Pilgrims

The next time they saw visitors was almost six o'clock, in the form of Ryan and much to Esposito and Meredeth's surprise, Captain Montgomery. Both came into the hospital room where they saw Tessi cuddling up with Meredeth in bed with the portable DVD player.

'Sir!' Esposito exclaimed as he looked up from the bassinet, and near stood up at attention. The instinct to ask he was doing there was papered over when Tessi looked up at the newcomers to the room and offered the two men a friendly wave. She knew Ryan straight off and she liked the captain whenever she saw him. He had skin like hers and her daddy's but darker, richer like the chocolate syrup her mother let her stir into milk. And he smelled like her dad did after he came home from work which in her mind was a smell of someone to trust.

'Hi Dappin, hi Devin, we washin' toons.'

'You are? What are you watching, Tessi?' Montgomery asked, in such a gentle fatherly tone it reminded Esposito that the captain himself was a father. It was a fact that was rather hard to remember when he was dressing you down for something or giving you orders to arrest the third-grade teacher who turned out to be a crack dealer

'We washin' Sharpy an' Shorge.'

'_Sharky and George_,' Meredeth clarified, patting Tessi's curly head. 'She loves her fish.'

'Fishies simmin' roun' an' roun' my room.'

'I remember helping your daddy paint your room,' Ryan smiled. 'That was almost three years ago.'

'I big sisser now.'

'You are indeed,' Montgomery agreed, looking in the bassinet and smiling warmly at the babies asleep in there. 'What a pair of beautiful little ones. Tessi, who is who?'

'That Leo and that Tee-nee,' she told him as she pointed to her siblings, pleased as punch a grown had asked for her help. 'Leo like bah-loo.'

'I see.'

'Mere, hope you don't mind, but we're kidnapping your man for a few hours.' Ryan shifted his feet, tried not to blush in guilt. 'We realized when Jenny and Dell got home this afternoon that Javi hasn't left the hospital and could probably do with a breather.'

'Oh, for sure,' Meredeth agreed, smiled at her husband whom she could read perfectly. 'Javier, love of my life, you are going to be helping me twenty-four-seven once I'm home in a day or two, and if you don't have your time away just for you and the guys, it will make everyone of us go a little crazy. Besides, Lanie and Beckett are coming over to visit you anyways.'

'Wha' bout me, Mami?' Tessi asked. 'I 'tay wit' you an' babies?'

Ryan crouched down so he was almost eye level with Tessi. 'Actually, Dell and Mall invited you over for a sleepover tonight, Tessi.'

'Wit' popporn?'

'I think we can manage that,' Ryan laughed, then made a little 'aw' face when the toddler gave him a hug. 'Give everyone a kiss because you are coming with me and Daddy to your house so we can let Daddy have a shower and some fresh clothes.'

Tessi made her rounds, this time really giving the babies each a kiss on the forehead and told them she'd see them soon. As she did so, Esposito gave Meredeth a juicy kiss, the kind that had Ryan and Montgomery looking elsewhere until they broke apart.

'I love you, Mere.'

'I love you, Javi.'

He was inches away from turning the door handle when it turned itself, or rather, it turned because Lanie and Beckett were walking in, each with gifts for Meredeth and cloth grocery sacks that carried the scent of fresh foods. 'Hey, it's girls' night in the baby ward,' Lanie said with her trademark sassy grin. 'No boys allowed with the exception of little Prince Leo there because he needs his mama for his own snacks.'

'Hi Lanie, hi Datie, I goin' Dell's,' Tessi announced proudly, turning back and forth on the spot. 'We munshin' popporn.'

'Lucky girl,' Beckett sighed, smiling at the new big sister. 'Oh, and remind Castle it's Alexis' turn to feed RJ while you guys are playing cards for an hour.'

'Got it. See you in a little while, babe,' Esposito winked at Meredeth and despite the fact she'd given birth a little over twelve hours before she felt a little rush in her stomach and giggled.

'Love you.'

'Love you too.'

The trio of men left, and Lanie gave Meredeth a look. 'Okay, do you put oysters in his coffee or what, because he's looking at you like he wants to make another pair already.'

'Don't say oysters, you're making me all...twitchy, too,' Beckett grinned, thinking of how she'd throw her husband into bed when she got home that night. To staunch the tide, she sat down beside Meredeth in the chair, pulled over the narrow rolling foot table. 'We brought you Geronimo's, lots of yummy yummy goodness, and we are going to play some cards, have a little girl chat.'

Lanie reached over for Meredeth's room phone, pressed a button. 'Hi, we're in Maternity four-six-one, is Andrea Hennessey on her break? Can you send her up when she is? Thank you.'

'You want to see her ring?'

'No, I know Daniel's the kind who will make the moment special for his girl, but I was talking to Jenny and apparently Andrea's not terribly close to her family, she's got friends but like us, her family are the people she knows from work, so...'

'We're adopting,' Meredeth concluded with a laugh as she munched a veggie chip. 'What did Jenny tell you about her?'

'Her parents split up when she was about nine, and from what I gather, her sisters are beyond Mean-Girl mean to her, but mom was working overtime to keep the family going and out with her boyfriend in her spare time. When her father died when she was twenty-one, Andrea came into a lot of money and she moved to Japan after she went through nursing school,' Beckett told them, which had Lanie snickering.

'We're not profiling a victim here, Kate.'

'I know, bad habit. Anyways, she's really into anime and SCUBA diving, she likes dance and biking as her fitness, she bakes almost as well as you Mere according to Jenny, and...'

She trailed off when Andrea came into the room, closed the door, and Meredeth began to do her own profiling of the girl. She had thick and luscious hair the colour of sunset and smoky grey eyes; she wasn't a pencil but neither overweight, which reminded Meredeth of herself a little. She had a lush and pouty mouth and the long-fingered hands of a concert pianist. When she approached, she listened to the melodious cellar voice that had comforted every woman in the room while they were in labour.

'Hi, you guys, Meredeth how are you feeling?'

'Hungry. Sit, have a bite.'

'Excuse me?'

'We,' Lanie gestured to the group of women, 'realized that you and your man have delivered all of our babies, and you know a little about us, but we don't know you, and we'd like to remedy that. You like ahi tuna?'

'It's one of my favourites.'

Meredeth watched the girl's hesitation as Lanie held out the sandwich and patted the chair beside her in invitation, and felt like she was watching a fourteen-year-old girl finally be accepted at the cool kids' table. 'This is from a place down-town, Geronimo's, you ever eaten there?'

'Yeah, I've had their take out on the way home, and Daniel would bring it over when he'd come to my place.' Andrea bit in and wanted to cry. The fish, the cucumber slaw, the crispy ciabatta bread was like heaven after a very long day shift. 'I have a weakness for fresh fish and sandwiches, he'd bring me one as a cheer-up after a rough shift. Just like I'd get in Japan.'

'Jenny said you lived there for a few years after you graduated,' Beckett commented and Andrea nodded.

'Yeah, I had to get away after my Dad died. I had my inheritance as a grad gift and I had a job combining my three passions in life so I took off.'

'What three passions might those be?'

'Nursing, movies and scuba-diving.'

'Not exactly a lot of places for scuba-diving in Manhattan,' Lanie commented, and Andrea nodded.

'I'm a good nurse, but I take every last vacation day I can so I can go to Australia and the Carribbean and Greece and Italy to go on dives. My dad got me hooked when I was a kid, it was how I'd spend every March break after he and my mom split up. It was just the two of us traveling and I loved it.' Andrea let out a little laugh. 'Back in March, the first trip Daniel and I took together, we went to the same place I learned to scuba-dive with my dad in Jamaica.'

'That's so romantic,' Meredeth sighed, then dusted off her hands when both of the twins began to cry in unison for a snack. 'Oops, look like a pair of little someones don't want to be left out of snack time either.'

'Here,' I'll give you a hand.' Andrea stood up, helped Meredeth adjust to a football hold on each baby so they could nurse simultaneously; she sat back down once the babies were sucking down their milkshakes. 'So, if I'm here, and I know Daniel's got the night off, does that mean he's with your men?'

'Yes, and don't worry, he'll be returned unharmed,' Beckett assured her. 'We play nice.'

'Ironically, we met this nice lady on a poker night too.' Lanie watched Meredeth nurse her babies and felt her heart flutter. 'Castle opened the door and found her sucking the lips off of her man, and we knew right then that she was a very special lady to him.'

'What was your first date with Daniel?' Beckett asked, cracking open a bottle of apple juice for Meredeth; she popped in a straw and held it to her friend's lips since Meredeth's hands were holding her babies steady.

Andrea opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by her beeping pager and gave them an apologetic look. 'Sorry guys, I have to run. See you on rounds, Mere.'

* * *

A few hours later, Esposito returned with a full belly and fresh clothes in time to see Leo burping out the air bubbles from his most recent snack as Andrea laid Trini back in the bassinet. 'Hey Mere,' he said with a wide smile and felt himself fall in love when he saw her purely joyous smile at his return. 'I called Ryan, Tessi is out like a light, she was very excited to stay over with Dell and Mallory.'

'So are Leo and Trini, they just finished their late-night snack and will be good to go until about one-thirty, two I think.'

'And look what I brought from home.' Esposito reached into his bag, pulled out _Key Largo_. 'You up for a little mami-and-daddy time?'

Meredeth answered him by throwing aside the covers of her bed. 'Hop in, sexy.'

Esposito did so, and looped his arm over Meredeth softened belly, which he knew would make her feel self conscious but he also knew that because she'd gained the weight by eating healthy foods and the fact she was breastfeeding two babies, the pounds would drop like pants in a porno. He gave her neck a kiss as they kept the volume on low. 'I won two hundred and sixty three bucks tonight, Mere, you shoulda seen the hand I had.'

'Yeah?'

'Four sixes beat Castle's full house, and it was a thing of beauty. Daniel did pretty well too, he took a nice little hand for himself, said he'd use it for a nice dinner out with you,' he added to Andrea who was making notes on her chart for Meredeth and the babies.

'Nice. I'll leave you two to movie night.'

Once Andrea had left, Meredeth turned and kissed her husband full on the mouth. 'I love you Javi.'

'I love you too, Mere.'

They tucked in together and fell asleep like it was their own bed.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


	41. Three Over Five: 3 Days Old

_Hello all, I can't believe we're here at the end of the BOGO baby story, but as you know, I never end one without starting another and by popular request, it's a timeline-companion piece to BOGO Baby of Beckett and Castle and their first year as parents together! As always, spread the word and review like it's going to be banned!_

* * *

'Bags are in the car, purse is with me, so are the babies and Tessi is at home with Honey-Milk, Dell and Mallory.'

Meredeth ran through her checklist as she tugged on the outerwear for the twins, made sure their caps were on their heads nice and snug. It was October twentieth and it was time to head home with the babies. Her husband had gone downstairs to get the car and she was putting the babies in their pram for transport from the maternity suite down to the hospital entrance. She was so excited and so nervous to take them home at the same time. It had been easy with just Tessi, in retrospect, because she'd been a singleton. Now she had her toddler-Tessi and two newborns, and it was a little daunting.

But Esposito was taking three months this time instead of just one to help make the adjustment to three little ones at home, and they'd also have help from Beckett and Honey-Milk until December. There was nothing like friends who treated you like family, she mused, as she buttoned Leo's hand-knit sweater up for him.

'There we are, you've got your 'buela's handiwork keeping you warm, my little prince, as do you my little duchess,' Meredeth cooed to her babies who were both awake and tracking her voice with their eyes. 'Okay, are we ready to go? Yes we are.'

She loaded them both into their pram and thought briefly about a pre-emptive pee but it was negated when Daniel appeared in the door of her maternity suite in his street clothes.

'Hey, Daniel what's crackin'?'

'Nothing much. Andrea's doing rounds and I'm on my way home after a double so I'm walking you and the babies out.'

'Thanks.'

Meredeth shouldered her purse, unlocked the wheels of the pram. 'Okay, babies, let's go home to the puppy and the big sister who just can't wait to see you!'

'They're so sweet,' Daniel commented as they stepped onto the elevator. 'I hope Andrea and I have a pair just like them.'

'You will, when the universe decides you should.'

'What do you think of seafood buffet for a wedding dinner?'

'I think that's delicious, but if you invite Lanie and Dave since we've decided to adopt you guys, you should know she's deathly allergic to shellfish.'

Daniel nodded; as Dave hadn't been there during the poker game this detail hadn't come up so he made a mental note of it. 'But she's cool with regular fish?'

'Oh yeah, just no crustaceans.'

When they got off the elevator, Meredeth saw Esposito waiting for her in the lobby, talking on his cellphone; from the pitch of his voice, it was Tessi on the other line and as she approached with Daniel and the stroller, he grinned at her.

'I have to go, princess, Mami and Leo and Trini are here. Yes, I'll make sure I do. Love you too, see you soon. Hey you,' he greeted his wife with a sweet kiss. 'How did they like their first elevator ride?'

'I think they liked it.'

'Thanks for everything, Dan, really,' Esposito held out his hand to the nurse, which Daniel shook heartily, 'and next poker night, brace for impact. My brother-in-law Cam is a retired Marine, he's got a hell of a game face.'

'I look forward to it.'

'We'll see you soon, hopefully outside the hospital.' Meredeth shook his hand as well, then turned to walk out with her husband. 'Let's go home, Daddy.'

* * *

When they arrived home, Meredeth wasn't at all surprised to find Lili and Cam with Rosie and Duncan. The moment they opened their front door, Rosie raced over to inspect her new cousins.

'Ola, babies,' she said sweetly, standing on tiptoe to see in the car-carriers. 'I am _pima _Rosie. You are so little.'

'They are,' Lili agreed, bounding over to inspect her new niece and nephew before giving her brother and sister-in-law her trademark hugs. 'Oh congrats you guys, you are so blessed! They're just beautiful!'

'Where's beauty and the beast?' Esposito asked as they went upstairs to the nursery.

'Asleep in beauty's chamber, poor little girl's just so overwhelmed with all this excitement.'

Lili watched Esposito and Meredeth take the babies out of their carriers, change them together out of their travel clothes into comfy onsies for napping. Hard to believe that it was only seven years before when her brother had seriously contemplated the possibility that he would never have the kind of relationship he'd secretly envied in Lili and Cam. Then he'd started talking about this woman named Meredeth in the subtle way that guys did, dropping her name into every conversation, until enough was enough and he finally brought her around to meet the family.

Now he was the family man, married to a wonderful woman and father of three. God wasn't that a head trip, she mused, as Esposito sat in the wide armchair and cuddled one of the twins against his chest; Lili was too far away to tell which one she was. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Arturo sigh in Tessi's room, and she peaked in the room, saw the little girl was waking up from her nap, Crush clutched tight in her hot little fist.

'Hi _tia_ Lili, my babies home?'

'Yes they are honey. Mami and Daddy are getting ready for them to have a nap, you want to come and say hello?'

'Uh-huh.'

Lili held out her hand and took her niece into the nursery, where she gasped softly. 'My babies dute, _tia_ Lili.'

'They are very cute.'

Tessi walked over to her father, put her hand on his knee. 'Wish one?' she asked in a small voice; Tessi was a good big sister and knew her babies needed quiet to sleep.

'It's Trini, princess, Mami's putting Leo in their crib.'

'He seepin' now?'

'Almost,' Meredeth told her daughter. 'He's a lot like you, he can sleep through almost anything.'

Arturo wandered in behind Tessi and immediately zeroed in on Trini, snuffling at her feet which made Trini fuss only momentarily before settling against Esposito's shoulder. Satisfied that this new little mistress wasn't an alien invader, he moved on to Meredeth at the crib, and gave Leo a lick through the slats of the crib. Unlike his sister, Leo flinched a little at the sensation on his leg and screwed his face up into a sneeze so big for such a little guy that Arturo scrambled out of the room in terror and took refuge beside Tessi's bed.

'Our brace guard-dog, we're so proud,' Meredeth laughed, adjusting Leo's blankets. 'Okay, my little prince, time for a snooze.'

'And you too,' Esposito added to Trini. 'You are little miss party-goer all year round, but even you need your rest.'

With the twins tucked into their bed and the window letting in soft natural light, the new parents gave their babies a kiss and took the baby monitor in the room. 'You want to stay for dinner, sis?' Esposito asked as they all went downstairs, and was a little relieved when Lili shook her head.

'No, _hermano_, we're letting you guys have a breather, it was like twenty-four-hour party-people in your maternity ward from what I hear, Mere.'

'And besides that, we've got plans for tomorrow, don't we Rosie?' Cam added with a litle wink at his daughter. 'Tell _tio_ Javi and _tia_ Meredeth what's happening tomorrow.'

'I gettin' earrings,' Rosie said proudly. 'I am a big girl now and get to have earrings.'

'Well, aren't you the lucky little duck. Let me give you a good-luck hug.' Meredeth crouched down, embraced her niece tightly. She was four already; where had the time gone?

'I'll call you soon, okay Mere?' Lili kissed her sister-in-law's cheeks and squeezed once more. 'Go, enjoy being a new mom at home again.'

Meredeth nodded, and when the George-Esposito clan was gone, she sighed as she sat down on the couch and felt the avalanche of emotions tumble through her. She sensed her husband beside her and in seconds, he had his arms around her, holding her as she let it all out.

'I'm so proud of you Mere,' he murmured, kissing the top of her head. 'You are the sexiest superhero I know and I love you so much.'

'I love you too. I could say it a million times and it wouldn't be enough to tell how much I...oh, god, pregnancy hormones are making me all corny and melodramatic.'

Esposito laughed. 'You just had two babies, I think you can take a pass on this one.'

'Jesus.' Meredeth took a deep breath, swiped at her eyes. 'I'm going to be so thankful for that breast pump for feeding those . In fact, I think I'm going to use it now.'

'Mami, no tears, no be sad. Babies here, be happy.'

'Oh, Tessi, princess, I didn't think you'd come downstairs with us.' Meredeth held out her arms and pulled her daughter into her lap. 'It's okay, my baby, you'll understand a little better when you're older but sometimes people who are so happy and so overwhelmed with what they feel inside the only reaction they have is to cry.'

'Daddy too?'

'Daddy too,' Esposito told his little girl. 'I cried when you were born because I was so happy, and when I asked Mami to marry me, and when Leo and Trini were born too.'

'Hmm. That funny. I know, I tell shoke.'

'You'll tell us a joke?'

'Uh-huh. Dock-dock.'

'Who's there?' Meredeth asked, intrigued that her little two year old was telling jokes at her age.

'Ash.'

'Ash-who?'

'Bess you!' Tessi giggled, and her parents genuinely cracked up. 'Dell teash me.'

'I bet he did. Hey, I have an idea, Tessi-boo.' Esposito felt the grind in his stomach of hunger. 'Why don't you and me take a little walk with Arturo down to the market to get something for dinner and we can let Mami have a rest and a shower?'

'O-day.' Tessi gave her mother a hug, then went to sit on the bottom stair and tug on her boots.

The sight of her daughter being such a big girl with her daddy had Meredeth sighing contentedly, and the moment they'd left she headed upstairs to fetch her breast pump; once she had a couple of bottles filled for the twins, she hopped in the shower and felt a little more human. She closed her eyes as the water flowed over her head. She'd never have believed in her wildest dreams she'd have become a mother to twins, yet here she was, a mother to the three most beautiful babies in the universe.

'How about that, Momo, I did it,' she murmured as she rinsed shampoo from her hair. 'Thank you, and thank you too Mom.'

Feeling freshly invigorated after her shower, Meredeth pulled on clean clothes and braided her hair off of her face. A quick check on her babies told her they were sound asleep, so she went into the kitchen and brewed herself a pot of tea as she kept a weather ear on the baby monitor clipped to her belt. The water finished boiling as the front door opened and she heard the twins stirring in the nursery. Rather than making tea, she floated two bottles in a bowl, set the kitchen timer.

'Mami, we have food 'pises!' Tessi exclaimed, and held out the little bouquet of flowers she'd insisted to her daddy her mother needed. 'I poud of you.'

'Aw thanks princess.' Meredeth picked her girl up, set her on her hip. 'How would you like to feed one of the twins?'

Tessi's eyes went round. 'Really?'

'Yes. I'll help you give Trini a bottle.'

'Yea! I big sisser, I always gonna help.'

Tessi waited patiently for her parents, then went upstairs to help with their little trio's newest additions. In the nursery, she settled into the comfortable armchair and held out her arms as her mother placed Trini in her big sister's arms while Esposito cuddled Leo against his heart, one happy little trilogy of five in downtown New York City.

* * *

R&R&Enjoy.


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